Cooley Dickinson Hospital Opens Southampton Coumadin Clinic

SOUTHAMPTON – People who are prescribed blood thinning medication such as Coumadin (warfarin) to prevent and treat blood clots need help monitoring the effect of the medication on the blood.

Easthampton- and Southampton-area residents now have access to a new anticoagulation clinic that opened May 2. Clinic hours will be Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cooley Dickinson Outpatient clinic, Big Y Plaza, Route 10, Southampton. The clinic is staffed by experienced anticoagulation nurses Ann Messier and Emily Martinez.

With a doctor’s referral, area residents have access to convenient appointments and immediate test results and instructions. Registered nurses collaborate with Dr. George Bowers, a hematologist/medical oncologist. In the clinic, registered nurses will perform finger-stick blood tests and interpret the results, adjust dosage as needed, provide education about interactions with diet and other medications, and communicate with the requesting provider about the patient’s results.

The goal of this expanded service is to provide safe, effective management of anticoagulant drug therapy, which has been proven to reduce the incidence of bleeding.

In addition to the new Southampton location, Cooley Dickinson operates anticoagulation clinics in Amherst and Northampton. Patients can make an appointment by calling (413) 582-2816.