Getting the Care You Need

Coping with sickle cell disease is not easy and we understand our patients need access to a comprehensive care team, which is what they will find at UC Davis Health. Comprehensive care involves regular visits with not just your primary doctor, but other specialists as well as lab tests and monitoring.

Multiple specialists ready to coordinate care. For instance, you are likely to see an ophthalmologist for annual exams because sickle cell disease places you at a higher risk for retinal damage. You may also see specialists in pulmonology, orthopedics, and dermatology. At UC Davis Health, coordination of your care will be a priority across different areas within the health system because a multidisciplinary approach has been shown to improve the health and well-being of sickle cell patients.

Additional services include:

• Infusion services (port-a-cath care, IV hydration, blood transfusion, partial manual exchange, iron chelation, outpatient pain management, crizanlizumab)
• Apheresis exchange
• Gene therapy clinical trial
• Therapeutic Services with a licensed clinical social worker to support patients with managing life circumstances while living with sickle cell, developing coping strategies, managing grief and loss, health advocacy, and transitioning into adulthood. This is done thru psychosocial assessments, crisis intervention, safety planning, case management, and brief therapeutic support sessions.
• Transition services