Newsline (Spring 2002)

Newslines

NMDP Appoints Two
The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) has appointed Puget Sound Blood Center Medical Director Thomas Price, M.D., to serve as vice president of the NMDP Council. During a three-year term, Dr. Price will represent centers throughout the U.S. that recruit donors to join the NMDP registry.

NMDP also appointed Kim Allen, manager of the Blood Center’s marrow donor program, to the organization’s Standards Committee for a three-year term. In addition, Allen was elected as facilitator of the NMDP Operational Efficiencies Work Group.

New "Links" Mean Better Service
Puget Sound Blood Center’s ”Hospital Links” Internet application is now available to client hospitals. The new feature will provide hospitals with immediate access to the Blood Center’s patient test results and order status. The result will be better patient care and quicker access to critical information for medical staff.

Trees of Life Grow
The Tree of Life represents volunteers whose whole blood and component donations total 100 units during their lifetimes. A name-engraved brass “leaf” honors each person who has reached that level of giving, and the donor also receives a pin, certificate and letter from Dr. Richard Counts, president of the Blood Center.

After years of having only one such Tree, housed in the lobby of the Seattle Center, now there is a Tree of Life in eight of the nine donation centers (due to wall space limitations, the Bellingham Center has substituted a plaque), so that donors can be honored where they give most.

Tree of Life donors total more than 700, and the number of leaves is growing fast.

Community Outreach: Visiting Port Townsend
In December, Puget Sound Blood Center President Richard Counts, M.D., traveled to Port Townsend to honor area donors and volunteers for their support. It was the latest Community Service Recognition luncheon held by the Blood Center to thank outlying groups.

After Dr. Counts talked about the importance of volunteerism afforded the Blood Center and the challenges ahead, the audience heard from one patient who knew first-hand how important the Blood Center is to community members like her.

Last June, 21-year old college student Courtney Caldwell noticed bruising on her legs. The diagnosis was M2 acute leukemia, which would require a year of chemotherapy, radiation, a bone marrow transplant and blood transfusions. She had less than 10 percent of the normal platelet count.

Fortunately a second diagnosis revealed a lesser form of leukemia that did not necessitate a marrow transplant. But she still needed blood. And Port Townsend turned out en masse at a Blood Center drive for the hometown girl.

Now in remission and on track to graduate from the Univeristy of Portland in May, Caldwell no longer needs blood but thanked everyone for their donation efforts on behalf of patients like her.

Icky!
On March 15-17, Puget Sound Blood Center helped “gross out” kids at the Gross Out!

The annual human physiology education program at the Pacific Science Center examines the fascinating and often unmentionable processes that go on inside the body every day.

The Blood Center exhibit allowed hundreds of visiting children to take part in interactive demonstrations and view My Blood, Your Blood, the video that explains all about blood, including how it travels through the body, why scabs are formed and what white blood cells do to fight off a cold.

Excellence and Service Mark Employee Event
“It’s never easy to make these decisions, not with people who go the extra distance, juggle multiple tasks and show the creativity, tenacity and innovation that these nominees did.”


Pictured are the Trustees’ Award nominees: (top row, from left) Ken Setran, Dee Clemence, Shannon Little, Bill Johnson; (middle row) Jon Ahrenholz, Dan Menane, Steve Katz, Emmatrice Devan; (bottom row) Gail Anderson, Nancy Peterson, Doug Bolgiano, Christine Lindquist and Maria Alberto-Spruill.

Puget Sound Blood Center Board President Lee Norman, M.D., offered that observation before announcing 15-year employee Doug Bolgiano as the winner of the 2001 Board of Trustees’ Award.

A biostatistician in the Research Department, Bolgiano received the award during the Employee Award Presentation and Reception held Jan. 23 at Seattle’s Frye Art Museum.

In accepting the award from Dr. Norman and Blood Center President Richard Counts, M.D., Bolgiano thanked his coworkers and his wife and daughter. “One of the things I enjoy most about working at the Blood Center,” he said, “is that I don’t know what will come across my desk next. That variety and the people are what keep me coming back.”

There were 13 nominees in all, representing a cross-section of Blood Center departments. “Their talents varied,” said Dr. Norman, “but their dedication to excellence in their respective responsibilities was a constant. They all are to be commended.”

In addition to Bolgiano, the nominees were: Jon Ahrenholz, Maria Alberto-Spruill, Dan Menane and Emmatrice Devan, all of Blood Collection Services; Gail Anderson and Dee Clemence of Information Systems; Bill Johnson of Order Processing and Distribution; Nancy Peterson of Human Resources; Steve Katz of Donor & Volunteer Resources; Christine Lindquist of the Cord Blood Program; and Shannon Little and Ken Setran, both of Inventory Production.

Prior to the award announcement, Dr. Counts recognized seven employees for their service milestones: Roselie Montero, 30 years; Joyce Lowe, 25 years; and Jeannine Berger, Cyd Boyd, Lydia Kelly, Richard Livingston and Lisa Park, all with 20 years service at the Blood Center.