Richmond Fire Department to Begin Fighting Sickle Cell

Beginning this May, the City of Richmond Department of Fire and Emergency Services will be the newest partner in treating sickle cell disease alongside VCU Health and Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.

The department is set to announce that the VCU Health adult and pediatric sickle cell programs will be beneficiaries of some of its fundraising efforts moving forward.

“The City of Richmond’s Fire Department has been in existence for nearly 160 years and has been a true partner of the city the whole time,” said Melvin Carter, Richmond’s Chief of Fire and Emergency Services. “We thought this was an excellent opportunity to continue to give back, and a way to really support a cause and raise awareness of this disease that so many are affected by.”

Jaylen Williams spends time with India Sisler, M.D., medical director of the comprehensive pediatric sickle cell disease program at CHoR.
“One of the real passions of our sickle cell team here at VCU, both in the pediatric world and in the adult world, is to help build a  community around sickle cell disease,” Dr. Sisler told us. “We take care of about 350 pediatric patients and about 400 adult patients, and we want those patients to feel supported. We want them to know each other … and mentor each other through the challenges of chronic illness.”

Sickle cell disease is a genetic blood disorder that affects 70,000–100,000 Americans, the majority of whom are African American or Hispanic. People who have it produce abnormal red blood cells that can block blood vessels, leading to organ damage, severe episodes of pain and other life-long complications.

Some of the strongest allies anywhere for people who live with sickle cell disease are right here in Richmond on the MCV Campus. The Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU is the only comprehensive pediatric center for sickle cell care in Central Virginia, and the adult sickle cell program at VCU Health is the only comprehensive center of its kind in the state.

This means that in Virginia, VCU Health is the only location where sickle cell patients can receive comprehensive care throughout their lifespan.

“I love VCU and I love the doctors that work with my children,” said Dionne Bobo, who has two children, ages 5 and 8, who receive treatment for sickle cell disease at CHoR. “You can really tell that they love what they do. They love working with this group of patients and they listen to the parents.”

In addition to treatment, it’s important to build awareness of sickle cell disease in populations and communities that are most at risk because about 2.5 million Americans carry the sickle cell trait. A person can be a carrier of the trait without experiencing the disease, and while both parents must be carriers to pass it on, it is important to know your and your partner’s status because there is a 25 percent chance of passing the disease on to children.

Dionne Bobo waits with her daughter Jaylen Williams before meeting with a doctor at CHoR. Both Jaylen and her brother Jadien have sickle cell disease.
Dionne Bobo waits with her daughter Jaylen Williams before meeting with a doctor at CHoR. Both Jaylen and her brother Jadien have sickle cell disease.

“Finding out our son had sickle cell was something that really shook our family,” said Dionne, who founded LIVING with Sickle Cell RVA, a community awareness organization. “It’s not something that I expected because I didn’t know sickle cell ran in our family. We didn’t really talk about it, and so we didn’t have the information we needed — we didn’t know how someone gets sickle cell, we didn’t know exactly how severe sickle cell is.”

To kick off the partnership that will raise awareness about sickle cell so families like Dionne’s can better prepare, and to jump-start fundraising that will support the life-changing patient care and research at VCU Health, the Richmond Fire Department and VCU Health sickle cell programs will celebrate with the public at Sickle Cell Disease Community Awareness Day on May 19 at Pollard Park in Richmond’s North Side.

There will be free food and drinks, fire engines, music, vendors, bounce houses and more, all MC’d by comedian Micah “Bam Bamm” White.

“I think this new partnership is an honor,” Dionne said. “And really it’s about time that other organizations or people with a platform come together to address this disease.”

Find details below about the kick-off event and join your community in celebrating the beginning of a life-saving partnership in Richmond.

What: Sickle Cell Disease Community Awareness Day
This event coincides with Richmond Fire Station No. 14’s open house, which will take place the same time and day just across the street. It will be an opportunity for community members to see fire engines, explore the station and meet the fire fighters who serve them each day.

When: Saturday, June 16, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Where: Pollard Park, 900 W. Brookland Park Blvd.; adjacent to Richmond Fire Station No. 14

The adult and pediatric sickle cell disease programs at VCU Health are always interested in partnering with new organizations and individuals to improve the leading research and patient care offered on the MCV Campus and across Richmond. If you would like to learn more about opportunities to be involved, visit our Florence Neal Cooper Smith Professorship page or our giving page.

Richmond Fire Chief Melvin Carter (second from right), along with Richmond Fire and Emergency Services personnel at Fire Station No. 17, Gather with Dionne Bobo and her children Jaylen and Jadien. Jaylen and Jadien both have sickle cell disease.
Richmond Fire Chief Melvin Carter (second from right), along with Richmond Fire and Emergency Services personnel at Fire Station No. 17, Gather with Dionne Bobo and her children Jaylen and Jadien. Jaylen and Jadien both have sickle cell disease.