Annemarie Gault Recognized for Establishing Local Sickle Cell Clinic, Improving Patients’ Lives
Beaufort Memorial Hospital (BMH) Family Nurse Practitioner Annemarie Gault has earned the Palmetto Gold Award, a designation given by the South Carolina Nurses Foundation. Established in 2002, the Palmetto Gold Nurse Recognition and Scholarship Program recognizes the state’s 100 top registered nurses each year for the valuable contributions they make to patient care and the leadership they have shown to promote the nursing profession.
Gault is the director of Beaufort Memorial’s Sickle Cell Clinic, the only program of its kind in the Lowcountry. She established and has led the clinic since its inception in 2016 as part of the statewide SC2 Pilot Program.
Recognizing the critical need for Sickle Cell patients to have access to preventive care, Gault worked closely with the SC2 program lead to establish patient-specific care plans and protocols to provide services in a dedicated, on-campus clinic that serves approximately 90 patients. The result has been a better quality of life for Sickle Cell patients, and drastically decreased emergency room visits and reduced inpatient admissions.
Gault also identified and advocated for transportation assistance, a key barrier for many local patients resulting in missed appointments and increased ER visits. In coordination with BMH leadership and a grant from the Blood Conservation Program, the hospital was able to purchase a van to transport patients to and from their clinic visits.
Gault received the award at the 20th Annual Palmetto Gold Gala last weekend in Columbia. Proceeds from the event support the Palmetto Gold scholarship program, which provides funding to nursing students across South Carolina.
“I am very proud of everything we accomplish on behalf of our patients,” Gault said. “Without this program they would continue to face crises, continuous trips to the ER and other hardships. By helping them manage their disease they can focus on other parts of their lives, like working and maintaining relationships with friends and family.”
