Jen Feldman
Why BD SUMHAC?
“The issue of equal access to substance use and/or behavioral health care for patients with bleeding disorders was first brought to my attention after Umass Memorial’s pediatric hemophilia clinic lost a patient to an overdose after he was denied access to treatment due to his hemophilia. Learning that healthcare providers in other hemophilia centers had also experienced denials from inpatient treatment facilities for patients seeking help became the driving force for change. No one should be denied treatment due to their hemophilia, one time is too many and it has become BD SUMHAC’s mission to insure that it doesn’t happen again.”
Bio
Jen has been a nurse for 20 years, most of that time spent as a pediatric nurse at Baystate Childrens Hospital in Springfield. After finishing her masters degree in nursing education in 2014, Jen joined the New England Hemophilia Center in Worcester as the new clinical nurse coordinator for both the pediatric and adult bleeding disorder clinics. Jen became more involved with the bleeding disorder community by volunteering with the New England Hemophilia Association, including as a camp nurse for their annual Family Camp in New Hampshire. Jen is also the co-founder of the Bleeding Disorder Substance Use and Mental Health Access Coalition (BD SUMHAC), which advocates for equal access to mental health/substance use disorder treatment for patients with bleeding disorders.