Educate. Connect. Empower. THRIVE.
ABOUT
HEM Foundation
Health equity requires
care for the whole person.
HEM Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to improving health outcomes for individuals and families impacted by sickle cell disease and other hematologic conditions.
We combine education, wellness, community support, scholarships, and advocacy to address the physical, mental, emotional, and social factors that influence health.
OUR MISSION
To improve health outcomes through a whole-person approach that combines education, community support, and practical resources while addressing the physical, mental, emotional, and social factors that influence health.
OUR VISION
A future where individuals and families affected by chronic health conditions have the knowledge, resources, support, and opportunities they need to live healthier, more connected, and fulfilling lives.
WHY WE EXIST
Health is shaped by more than a diagnosis.
Better health is shaped by the whole person & the world around them.
For individuals living with sickle cell disease and other chronic conditions, health can be influenced by far more than medical treatment alone.
Families may navigate chronic pain, unpredictable hospitalizations, medical trauma, mental health challenges, financial barriers, stigma, and difficulty accessing consistent support.
Research increasingly demonstrates the interconnectedness of our biological, psychological, and social experiences. Stress physiology, for example, can influence the nervous system, blood flow, inflammation, sleep, and pain perception, while chronic pain and illness can themselves become significant sources of stress.
HEM Foundation was created to address these connections.
We complement traditional healthcare with education, wellness experiences, community resources, scholarships, and supportive spaces that help individuals and families better understand their health, build practical skills, and feel supported beyond the clinical setting.
MEET OUR FOUNDER
Maya Bloomberg, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC
Founder & President | @theHemeNP
Maya Bloomberg is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and Hematology Nurse Practitioner who has cared for individuals living with sickle cell disease (SCD) and congenital bleeding disorders since 2014.
Her clinical work gave her a front-row view of the inequities surrounding SCD. But the vision behind HEM Foundation became personal during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While working in healthcare and raising three young children, including newborn twins, Maya experienced her own period of prolonged stress, healing, and transformation. As she began exploring the connections between stress, the nervous system, mental health, and physical well-being, she started looking differently at patterns she had witnessed for years in her patients. She became increasingly interested in a simple idea that now shapes much of her work: the body is always communicating, and understanding what influences those signals can help us care for the whole person more effectively.
The mind and body were never separate.
Our approach to health shouldn’t treat them as if they are.
For people living with SCD, this connection is especially important. Chronic pain and unpredictable health crises can place significant demands on both the mind and body, while stress physiology can influence pain perception, sleep, inflammation, and overall well-being. Maya believes addressing these connections should complement, not replace, high-quality medical care.
In 2023, she founded HEM Foundation to broaden the conversation around health equity beyond access to medical treatment alone. Her vision is to bring together evidence-based medicine, education, mental and emotional well-being, community, and whole-person health in ways that are practical, accessible, and responsive to the people HEM serves.
Today, this philosophy guides HEM Foundation’s programs, partnerships, scholarships, educational initiatives, and growing impact within the sickle cell community, helping create a model of care that recognizes the whole person, not just the diagnosis.