BCDI is Taking A Knee For DVT

Help us spread awareness about Thrombosis, Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and Pulmonary Embolism (PE).

Thrombosis is the development of a blood clot!

DVT is a blood clot deep in the veins, usually found in the lower leg or groin.

PE is when a clot breaks off and travels to the lungs.

These conditions kill more people each year than AIDS, breast cancer and car crashes combined.

World Thrombosis Day is October 13th!

The Man Behind the Science

At a time when health care is changing, The Bleeding & Clotting Disorders Institute in Peoria is assisting patients in making the transition while providing expert, comprehensivecare to increase their quality of life.

Delivering Personalized Health Care

Founded April 5, 2010, The Bleeding & Clotting Disorders Institute exists to provide professional, family-oriented care for patients experiencing bleeding, clotting, and other blood disorders. The nonprofit multidisciplinary evaluation, treatment, and research facility provides health care services and education, coordinating care in collaboration with health care professionals to help patients experience life to its fullest.

“We do everything to ensure the best possible care for our patients,” says Dr. Michael Tarantino, Medical Director and Founder of BCDI. “BCDI is the only recognized bleeding and clotting disorders center outside of Cook County. For this reason, part of our mission is to reach out to under-served areas in Illinois through our awareness campaign. Twice a month we pack up our clinic and visit cities and towns as far north as Rockford and as far south as Springfield to provide treatment and education. We are working on a telemedicine program in the southern part of the state. We have a job to do, and BCDI will do what it takes to bring healing and education to people across the state.”

Dawning of an Era

he importance of having bleeding and clotting disorder clinics similar to BCDI in the United States was first realized in the 1960’s when Dr. Judith Graham Pool, an American scientist and professor of Medicine at Stanford University, accidentally discovered how to isolate the missing protein that causes blood to clot in hemophilia patients. Hemophilia is an inherited disease caused by a deficiency in one of the proteins needed for blood to clot, resulting in prolonged bleeding into the joints, muscles, or body organs.

This accidental discovery led to a new era of physician treatment of patients with the disease. The availability of the missing clotting factor has enabled hemophiliacs to treat themselves at home with injections, reducing both the length of hospitalization and the cost of treatment.

“Before Dr. Pool’s discovery, if patients with hemophilia suffered a serious hemorrhage, and if they survived, they would usually remain in the hospital for a couple of weeks or more,” says Dr. Tarantino. “Some patients would experience traction, lose muscle mass, and become disabled. Dr. Pool’s discovery led to the existence of comprehensive care centers of excellence, like BCDI. Today, these care centers exist to empower patients with hemophilia to take care of themselves.”

In the late 1970s to mid 1980s, clotting factor concentrates became contaminated with HIV. In response, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) set up programs to administer and monitor the safety of clotting treatment through Comprehensive Care Clinics.

Following the contamination of the clotting factors, the inception of Hemophilia Treatment Centers of Excellence took place. BCDI is one of 143 federally recognized Hemophilia Treatment Centers of Excellence in the country, and the only one in downstate Illinois.

For more information on hemophilia, visit visit www.hemophilia.org.

Experiencing Expert Care

BCDI provides expert, state-of-the-art care, collaborating with other bleeding and clotting disorder centers to develop the best practices to markedly enhance patient treatment. “We have networks of doctors in the country that focus on treating blood disorders even more rare than hemophilia in order to administer the best care possible,” explains Dr. Tarantino. “Health care is a right, but it is also a commodity. Patients must go to a place where the practitioners and staff are specially trained experts.”

When it comes to delivering expert care to patients with rare blood disorders, BCDI continually surpasses expectations. An award winning, nationally recognized hematologist appointed as a representative on the board of directors of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Council (MASAC) of the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF), Dr. Tarantino’s work to combat hemophilia, Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) and other blood disorders has led to advanced research on behalf of patients living with these diseases.

One of Dr. Tarantino’s signature contributions to the hemophilia community was his role as lead investigator for the clinical development of the first fully synthetic blood factor product. Today, it is the primary product used to treat and prevent bleeding in hemophilia patients. In honor of his contributions to patients with this disease, Dr. Tarantino was awarded the highest honor in the bleeding disorders community: the prestigious Kenneth Brinkhous Physician of the Year Award, in 2012.

Additionally, BCDI delivers expert care by striving to remain on the cutting edge of ITP research and treatment. ITP is an acquired blood disorder that causes easy or excessive bruising and bleeding due to unusually low platelet levels.
Dr. Tarantino has been involved in treatment that increases platelet production in persons with ITP and has served as the lead investigator on an international study to help children with the disease. In addition, Dr. Tarantino is collaborating with Dr. Greg Gerstner to form the first ITP comprehensive care clinic in the country.

Having published between 40 and 50 articles related to ITP in medical journals and having given numerous presentations on the disorder, Dr. Tarantino says BCDI has treated ITP patients across the country, even as far away as California, and partners closely with the Platelet Disorders Support Association (PDSA) and has served on PDSA’s Medical Advisory Board for the past decade. For more information, visit www.pdsa.org.

As experts in their field, the physicians and staff at BCDI are heavily involved with community education. For the past five years, BCDI has participated in the Women’s Lifestyle Show and other area conventions to promote awareness of von Willebrand Disease (VWD) and other bleeding disorders in women.

According to Dr. Tarantino: “People with VWD take longer to stop bleeding than normal. Heavy menstrual bleeding is one of the symptoms. At BCDI, we work with women’s gynecologists to avoid unnecessary surgery to treat heavy menstrual bleeding.”

Tested and Proven

BCDI’s stellar reputation would not be possible without the help of trained medical professionals on staff. “The National Hemophilia Foundation’s Medical Advisory Board uses guidelines for training purposes as well as for specific credentials that bleeding disorder centers’ staff and physicians must have in order to treat patients,” explains Dr. Tarantino.

Dr. Tarantino has extensive training in the specialty of bleeding and clotting disorders. He completed a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at the University of Wisconsin in 1993 and is currently a professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria. Today, he has 25 years of experience caring for children and adults with bleeding and clotting disorders. BCDI’s 20 plus-member staff encompasses 250 years cumulative experience in bleeding and clotting disorders.

As health care continues to move forward with the advent of the Affordable Care Act, nurse coordinators and medical social workers help patients navigate through the recent changes in Medicaid, changes implemented by the Affordable Care Act and similar reforms taking place in the private insurance market.

“With the changing health care environment, I think people really need to exercise caution about which health care plan they choose and look carefully at the qualifications of different physicians,” says Dr. Tarantino. “BCDI is here to help patients in every way possible. Whether transitioning to a more affordable health care plan, finding the right specialist or reaching out to the community, we make patients’ quality of life our number one priority.”

Michael D. Tarantino, MD, completed his residency in pediatrics at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center in 1990. He is currently a professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. He is board-certified in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and brings 25 years of experience caring for children and adults with bleeding and clotting disorders.

For more information on the Bleeding & Clotting Disorders Institute, visit www.ilbcdi.org or call (309) 692-5337 or toll free at (877) 335-2234. Office hours are from 8 a.m.– 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. BCDI is located at 6811 North Knoxville, Peoria, IL

BCDI Employee Team Building Day

When it comes to delivering expert care to patients with rare blood disorders, BCDI continually surpasses expectations. BCDI’s stellar reputation would not be possible without the help of trained medical and administrative professionals on staff.

“The National Hemophilia Foundation’s Medical Advisory Board uses guidelines for training purposes, as well as for specific credentials that bleeding disorder centers’ staff and physicians must have in order to treat patients,” explains Dr. Tarantino.

BCDI’s 25 plus-member staff encompasses over 250 years of cumulative experience in treating individuals with bleeding and clotting disorders. At BCDI, we strive to have our patients’ best interest in mind in all that we do.

To remind each and every staff member how important and vital his or her role is, BCDI hosted a team building day in Chicago. Thank you to Dr. Tarantino, Dr. Madden, Dr. Roberts, Kollet and everyone else who helped plan such a fun day!

BCDI attends NHF’s 2015 Annual Meeting

The Bleeding & Clotting Disorders Institute attended the 2015 National Hemophilia Foundation’s (NHF) Annual Meeting in Texas. BCDI staff attended the three-day conference to learn more about expanding programs and services for patients, how to combat insurance and legislative issues to allow productive advocacy efforts and updates on research, clinical trials and treatment breakthroughs.

While they were there, the BCDI team had dinner with Brian Goff, Baxalta’s Executive Vice President and President of Hematology.

NHF’s Annual Meeting is unique because it is open to consumers. Sessions were available for the bleeding & clotting disorders community to allow those directly affected to participate in discussions and informative forums. If you would like to attend the meeting in 2016, it will be held in Orlando on July 21-23 in conjunction with the World Federation of Hemophilia’s World Conference, which will take place July 24-28, 2016. Click here or email Amanda for more information.

Dr. Tarantino Co-Authors Publication on Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP)

Dr. Michael Tarantino, Medical Director and Founder of the Bleeding and Clotting Disorders Institute, is considered one of the world’s thought leaders on immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). He has published dozens of papers on ITP in major medical journals over the past 25 years.

In a recent issue of the Journal of Blood Medicine (J Blood Med. 2015; 6: 37-44. Published online 2015 Jan 19. doi: 10.2147/JBM.S47240), Dr. Tarantino and resident physician, Sarah Chalmers, MD reviewed the current knowledge on the treatment of ITP with a relatively new agent that helps the body grow enough platelets to counteract the premature destruction of platelets seen in patients with ITP. Dr. Tarantino and the clinical staff at BCDI have been involved in clinical research of this and other “platelet growth factors” for the past ten years. Read review here

Dr. Jonathan Roberts Co-Authors Publication on VWD

Dr. Jonathan Roberts is the Assistant Research Director and newest physician at the Bleeding & Clotting Disorders Institute. He is Board Certified in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Blood Marrow Transplant. Dr. Roberts is also an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria.

Dr. Roberts collaborated with Veronica Flood, MD, from the Comprehensive Center for Bleeding Disorders of Wisconsin to compose a Laboratory diagnosis of von Willebrand Disease. The article is published in the International Journal of Laboratory Hematology*. Read the review here

Dr. Roberts has been acknowledged for his research on bleeding disorders by the American Society of Hematology, International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis, National Hemophilia Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

His research areas of interest are advancing novel laboratory assay development to improve the diagnosis of von Willebrand Disease and to enhance individualized clinical management of hemophilia.

*International Journal of Laboratory Hematology; Special Issue: International Society for Laboratory Haematology 2015 Education Issue; Volume 37, Issue Supplement S1, pages 11-17, May 2015.

Dr. Tarantino Travels to Milan, Italy to Speak on Hemophilia

Medical Director of the Bleeding & Clotting Disorders Institute, Dr. Michael Tarantino, a world-renowned thought leader in hematology with over 25 years of experience in his field, has devoted his medical career to the management of bleeding and clotting disorders, as well as non-malignant hematology for over two decades.

He recently traveled to Milan, Italy to give the keynote address on Acquired Hemophilia, to an expert panel of hematologists from across Italy. The conference, titled “The Diagnosis and Treatment of Acquired Hemophilia A,” addressed the unique challenges for patients with this severe bleeding disorder, and the physicians that treat it. Dr. Tarantino shared his practice experience with the Italian experts.

*Pictured in photo (From Left: Allesandro Gringeri, Cristina Santoro, Ezio Zanon, Renato Marino, Michael Tarantino, Pier Mannuccio Mannucci, Piercarla Schinco)

BCDI’s Nurse Practitioner, Dana Stephens, selected for nurse speciality

Dana Stephens, RN, MS, CPNP, has been selected to serve as a member of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Logical Job Analysis I for the Hemostasis Nurse Specialty.

The panel is comprised of a select group of nurse experts from across the country, whom are tasked with the development of the specialty’s ANCC certification examination. The Hemostasis Nurse Specialty (HNS) certification should be launched in the Fall.

BCDI is proud of the work Dana does at the Bleeding & Clotting Disorders Institute to contribute to the integrated care of our patients and that her expertise has been nationally recognized, as well.

Congratulations, Dana!