Dr. Judith Baker, whose work led to the development of the first-ever hemophilia treatment centers in Nevada, Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific, was a featured guest March 13, 2015, at the signing of a proclamation declaring March to be Hemophilia Awareness Month in Guam.
The proclamation also celebrated the passage of Guam's new law mandating that commercial insurance companies cover blood and blood products.
“Mandating private health insurance companies to provide coverage for blood and blood derivatives will benefit many Guam residents,” Baker said. “This new law gives Guam residents with hemophilia the chance to get new jobs and promotions in the private sector, the chance to share their skills and talents, support their families and grow Guam’s economy.”
More than 50 patients, families, health care professionals and government leaders attended the proclamation signing. People spoke poignantly about the problems of living with a bleeding disorder on Guam during years of no or sporadic education and treatment.
Baker is an adjunct assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at UCLA. She’s also public health director of the Western States Regional Hemophilia Network, a system of 14 federally supported blood disorder centers in California, Hawaii, Nevada and Guam.
