CarterBlood

Carter BloodCare steps up to the plate(lets)

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Have you given blood this year? If so, you’ve probably noticed that our blood drives here on the Providence campus are now being conducted by Carter Blood Care -- and with good reason.

For over 50 years, Providence received our blood supplies from the American Red Cross. “During most of that time, the testing and processing of blood was performed here in Waco at the Central Texas Red Cross Blood Center,” said Dave Guyer, Providence Foundation Executive Director who shared some historical background. “A few years ago, a decision was made at Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C., to merge the Central Texas Red Cross Blood Center with the larger Red Cross Southwest Region headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma,” he said. “Since that merger, blood collected by the Red Cross in Waco is shipped to Tulsa for testing and processing. It is then redistributed to various hospitals in Oklahoma and Texas,” Dave added.

According to Providence President and CEO Kent Keahey, both Providence Health Center and Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center have experienced deteriorating service by the Red Cross regarding timely delivery and supply of blood products, particularly platelets which are essential for both the heart surgery program at Providence and the trauma services program at Hillcrest. Such problems resulted in surgery delays and threatened the quality of patient care. “This happened in spite of the fact that the Red Cross has historically collected far more blood in Waco than is being used in our area,” Mr. Keahey said. After several meetings between the medical staffs and administrations of both hospitals and the Red Cross, no meaningful improvement was noticed. “This led to a collaborative decision by both local hospitals and our Medical Staff to seek an alternative blood product supplier,” Mr. Keahey added.

“We welcome any steps forward that help us to have plentiful blood and blood product supply in Waco,” said cardiovascular thoracic surgeon Dr. Bill Peper. “”This enables us to best take care of the needs of our cardiac and vascular patients, and no doubt, there are other patients that will benefit from such an advance, as well,” Dr. Peper said.

Bill Peper, M.D.

Carter BloodCare now routinely provides the vast majority of the blood needed at both Providence and Hillcrest. Since initiating this new arrangement, Carter BloodCare has been able to consistently meet both our routine and emergency patient blood needs. “Last year, 2,875 units of blood were transfused to 1,052 patients here at Providence,” said Linda Erlanson, director of the Providence laboratory. “In addition, 223 patients received platelets.” “Blood is vital to providing good health care products,” added Linda. “We are pleased to be partnering with Carter BloodCare.”

Linda Erlanson

Dr. Doug Michaels, Providence medical director of laboratory agrees. “I anticipate our relationship with Carter will continue, and I fully support their efforts here in Waco," Dr. Michaels said. “It is my hope that community support for Carter here will take root and grow. Since Carter is supplying our blood, people in the community should realize and understand that, if they donate blood to Carter, they are helping to meet Waco’s blood needs; whereas if they donate to another blood service, it is highly unlikely that their donation will be used to benefit patients in the Waco area,” said Dr. Michaels.

Doug Michaels, M.D.

To assure the continuance of this safe and adequate blood supply for hospital patients in our community, there is need for both hospitals to form a coalition with donor groups in the Waco area and with Carter. It is very important that the Waco community support Carter BloodCare by participating in blood drives conducted by Carter, which both hospitals are now sponsoring exclusively on their campuses. In the near future and with the help of Waco’s generous blood donors, Carter will be supplying 100% of our blood needs. Suffice it to say, Waco’s hospital patients can continue to count on a safe and adequate supply of blood.

The next Providence blood drive is scheduled for Friday, April 19 at the Health Center. In addition, other blood drives are being scheduled at locations all around Waco. To get information about these and other blood drives, call 1-800-DONATE 4, or access the Carter BloodCare web site at www.carterbloodcare.org. By helping Carter BloodCare, we are helping our hospital as well as our friends and neighbors who look to us for care.