Hemophilia and Thrombosis Treatment Center - Pediatric

Overview & Mission

The Mass General Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center (HTC) is a federally supported and fully accredited center that offers comprehensive care for children and adults with bleeding and clotting disorders. Our HTC operates within the Mass General for Children (MGfC) and Massachusetts General Hospital. Our mission is to provide exceptional care for patients with bleeding and clotting disorders of all ages throughout their lifespan. Each patient’s care is personalized based on the most recent research and advancements in treatment options. Our pediatric and adult medical teams work cooperatively to treat patients throughout their lifespan, providing exceptional care from birth through adulthood. 

Conditions We Treat

• Hemophilia A (FVIII Deficiency)
• Hemophilia B (FIX Deficiency)
• Von Willebrand Disease
• Other Rare Factor Deficiencies
• Inherited Platelet Disorders
• Inherited Thrombophilias
• Venous Thromboembolisms including deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolisms

Comprehensive Care

The Mass General Hemophilia Treatment Center (HTC) is a comprehensive pediatric and adult program that promotes caring for the whole patient, including their physical, psychosocial, and mental well-being. We use a multidisciplinary approach to care to provide necessary services during your visit. Our goal is to provide each patient and family with an individualized care plan to reduce complications and hospitalizations and improve quality of life.

Our multidisciplinary team consists of:

• Adult and Pediatric Hematologists
• Hematology Nurse Practitioner
• Hematology-trained nurses
• Physical therapists
• Physiatrist (Physical and Rehabilitative Medicine)
• Social workers
• Clinical Research Coordinator

Specialty Clinics

In addition to our HTC, we offer other services that may benefit our bleeding disorder patients. After being seen at our Hemophilia Clinic, we may provide referrals to one of Mass General's many specialty clinics and services:

• Orthopedics
• Dentistry
• Pediatric Stroke Clinic
• Neurosurgery
• Pain Management
• Genetics

Blood Factor Program

The Massachusetts General Hospital Blood Factor Program was established as a non-profit factor home delivery service in 2014. Revenue generated through our Blood Factor Pharmacy Program has played an important role in the growth of our HTC Clinical Staff, creating more opportunities to support our patients and expand our services to our community. We have partnered with New England Life Care as our preferred Blood Factor Contract Pharmacy.

Our Blood Factor Program allows our clinical staff the ability to ship blood factor products directly to our patient’s home, conveniently and effectively. This model enables our team to more oversight into getting our patients their medication. Our team handles all eligibility determinations, prior authorizations, deliveries, blood factor management, billing, and can troubleshoot any issues patients may experience quickly.

Our Blood Factor Program is elective. Patients are free to use whichever pharmacy service they choose. Eligibility for our program is performed by our billing staff through a thorough process of determining where each patients blood factor coverage lies within their plan. All plans have both a pharmacy benefit and a medical benefit, in which we must determine where your in-home blood factor injectable coverage is found.

Services We Provide

• Home delivery
• Access to all blood factor treatments
• Expansive selection of infusion supplies
• Coverage and coordination of home infusion nursing services
• Attentive customer service
• Ongoing clarification of insurance coverage for factor waste disposal program
• Patient Education Programs
• 24 hour phone contact

Why 340B Is Important

Section 340B of the Public Health Service Act requires pharmaceutical manufacturers participating in Medicaid to sell outpatient drugs at discounted prices to health care organizations that care for many uninsured and low-income patients. One of the health care organizations or covered entities this pertains to are Hemophilia Treatment Centers. 340B generated funds allow our HTC to stretch limited federal resources to reduce the price of outpatient pharmaceuticals for patients and expand health services to the patients and communities we serve. These savings are passed on to the patient directly in terms of discounted prices of incredibly expensive medications passed on to their insurance company.

Manufacturing Co-Pay Assistance Programs

All manufacturers of blood factor products have co-pay assistance programs all patients can and should enroll in. The Co-Pay Assistance programs are tremendously beneficial as they can be utilized to cover premiums and deductibles on plans.

As we know, blood factor is tremendously expensive. January 1^st comes, and your deductible is reset. You may have $5000 deductible. If on January 2^nd you are shipped your monthly blood factor medication, your deductible will be met on that shipment. The co-pay assistance program is designed knowing the great expense of the medication, to allow you to pay your deductibles with their co-pay assistance programs.

Research and Innovation

In addition to our clinical services, we provide access to the most recent advances in education and research.

Learn More>

Patient Resources and Education

• Anticoagulation Forum
• Hemophilia Alliance
• Hemophilia Federation
• Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research Society
• Hole in the Wall Gang
• National Blood Clot Alliance
• National Hemophilia Foundation
• NEHA
• Platelet Disorders Support Association (PDSA)
• Playing it Safe: Sports and Exercise
• Steps for Living
• The Foundation for Women and Girls with Blood Disorders
• Travel Resources Thrombosis and Hemostasis Societies of North America (THSNA)

Travel

If you are traveling domestically or internationally, please utilize the resources below to locate nearby HTCs:

• In the United States
• Outside the United States

Our Care Team

Meet the dedicated and passionate members of our comprehensive care team at the Massachusetts General Hospital Hemophilia and Thrombosis Treatment Center.

Eric Grabowski, MD, SCD

HTC Medical Director
Pediatric Hematology

Mariel (Molly) Smith, MD
Pediatric Hematology

Larissa Bornikova, MD
HTC Associate Medical Director
Medical Hematology

Colleen Tighe, NP
Adult & Pediatric Hematology

Nurses

Kathy Bezzarro, RN
Adult Hematology

Meaghan Carnell, RN
Pediatric Hematology

Dannielle Eramia, RN
Pediatric Hematology

Erin Kivlehan, RN
Pediatric Hematology

Caroline Krilovich, RN
Pediatric Hematology

Megan Murphy-Flood, RN
Pediatric Hematology

Patricia Scott, RN
Pediatric Hematology

Karen Sylvanowicz, RN
Pediatric Hematology

Social Work

Elyse Levin-Russman, MSW, LICSW
Pediatric Hematology

Rebecca Lawrence, MSW, LICSW
Medical Hematology/Oncology

Physiatry

Brian Wishart, DO
Pediatrics and Adults

Physical Therapy

Jennifer Hathaway
Adult Hematology

Casey Vandale, PT
Pediatric Hematology

Administration

Eric Cronin
Program Manager




David Yo
Clinical Research Coordinator