This winter, the Ross Medical Education Center Johnson City, Tennessee campus held a blood drive with local organization Blood Assurance. With Blood Assurance, all blood collected goes to local facilities for use within the community. Students, staff, and faculty in Johnson City are passionate about supporting their neighbors, and excited for any opportunity to do so. In fact, when hosting this recent drive, the campus had so many students, staff members, and faculty members sign up to give blood. Actually there were so many that, due to time constraints, not everyone that signed up was able to donate.
Blood Assurance is a regional non-profit organization that is able to operate in over 70 healthcare facilities in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. From their founding in 1972, they have expanded and grown to serve over 50 counties. They are focused on providing safe blood and blood components to each and every patient in need. They are also a part of the Be the Match Registry to better serve all of those in the region and beyond. “Blood Assurance blood bank is the sole provider for all of the hospitals in the Tri-Cities, Tennessee area. As a campus, we decided to hold a blood drive for all staff and students to help provide with the large need of blood in this area,” explained Tiffany Riddle, Ross Career Services Representative. Helping out in the local area was indeed important to many at the campus, including Assistant Campus Director of Education Linda Sadler, who said, “saving a life is important to me, but being able to save a life in my local community means so much more, that is why I donate blood.”
Blood Assurance Representative Mike Patterson was also thrilled to partner with Ross saying, “terrific blood drive! Everyone at Ross Medical Education Center was so nice and accommodating. My crew enjoyed meeting the donors. You guys did a fantastic job recruiting. We had 36 present and we collected 31 units. That means up to 93 local lives may be saved by you and your team! Please let everyone know how thankful we are to have you as our newest life-saving partner.”
During the drive, there were 36 volunteers to donate, and in the end they were able to collect 31 units of blood. To give a little bit of context, 31 units could save up to 93 local lives! Office Assistant Heather Thomas shared about the drive, “we are extremely proud of our students!” April Voorhees, current student in the Medical Assistant program said, “to me donating blood was important because I wanted to be able to help others. In high school I never got the chance to do it, but now that I finally have, I’m glad knowing just that little bit will help.” Another student, Michelle Conley, from the Medical Insurance Billing and Office Administration program shared, “I enjoy being an active member of our school. Donating blood is an excellent way for me to show school spirit while helping our community as well.”