John Filicett (left)

NEWSLines

Donor Center Opens in Federal Way
Puget Sound Blood Center opened the doors on a new donor center in Federal Way on August 16. Federal Way Mayor Mike Park and Federal Way Chamber CEO Tom Pierson led the audience in welcoming the Blood Center and speaker John Filicetti, who knows the value of blood donation; his son has hemophilia. Along with Blood Center then-VP Maria Elena Geyer, COO Dr. Mike Strong and directors David Leitch and Clint Kendrick joined Filicetti, Park and Peirson in the ribbon cutting. The new center makes it more convenient for South King County residents to give blood. (Pictured from left: John Filicetti with son Michael and wife Mary.)

	Melissa Hutton

When Melissa Hutton Speaks, People Listen
Well, they did in Las Vegas in September. And they do at the Facilities Department at Puget Sound Blood Center, too. At least when it comes to paper – and a smart way to get rid of it.

That was one of the themes of Hutton’s “Optimize Your Maintenance” presentation to the Infor 2007 User Conference, where customers, business partners and other professionals from around the world gathered to share ideas.

Hutton wowed the crowd with a paperless work order process that electronically distributes work orders via MP2 filters to facility engineers’ laptops. The streamlined process enables engineers to be more mobile and also allows customer access to check the status of requests.

Her talk was a hit; companies have asked for Hutton’s help. And the software provider’s conference was a hit with her, too. “I walked away with a lot of ideas to enhance our department,” she said, contradicting the catch-phrase, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”

	Photo courtesy of Nancy LeVine

Among the Best
In September when Seattle magazine printed its annual list of the “Top Doctors” in the metropolitan area, Terry Gernsheimer, M.D., represented the best in hematology. As the Blood Center’s director of Medical Education since 1993 as well as director of transfusion services at the University of Washington and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Dr. Gernsheimer has long been one of the area’s most respected physicians.

Also topping the magazine’s list was Ernest (Chappie) Conrad, M.D. (pictured at right), mainstay at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center as director for the Department of Orthopedics, and chief of both orthopedic oncology and bone tumor. Dr. Conrad also has been medical director of the Blood Center’s Northwest Tissue Services since it was founded nearly 20 years ago as Northwest Tissue Services.

Sharing expertise – Blood Center Goes Far (East)
Roche Diagnostics, working with Thailand’s National Red Cross (NRC), asked Puget Sound Blood Center to review collection techniques in Bangkok after testing indicated a contamination problem. In August, Barb Del Baccaro, Blood Center blood collections specialist, presented a workshop to 80 blood bank professionals representing five blood centers from across Thailand.

She toured NRC’s new Bangkok facility and mobile units and observed collection procedures, focusing on sample collections. Afterward, Del Baccaro created a presentation to address safety concerns, another on collection procedures at the Blood Center, and offered solutions to NRC’s issues.

Two days later, participating groups of professionals noted the changes that would be made based on Del Baccaro’s analysis. The trip, underwritten by Roche, again showed Blood Center expertise on the world stage.

Comparing Notes
Sixteen physicians from the Suqian People’s Hospital in Nanjing, China, visited the Northwest for two weeks in July and toured area medical facilities, including Puget Sound Blood Center.

Suqian People’s Hospital is part of the Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Group, which has ties to Nanjing University Medical School. The visit, arranged by Lucy Quek-Tait, associate director of International Marketing and Recruitment at Edmonds Community College, gave the Suqian physicians an opportunity to compare best medical practices of the two countries.

The doctors toured the Blood Center’s Transfusion Services, Patient Services, Donor Services and Northwest Tissue Services. One of the group, Dr. Song Bo, translated for his cohorts and Blood Center staff.

	The state recognized the Blood Center and employees Kathie Hart (right), Debbie Cooley (left) and Tonia Harrington, holding the certificate of participation.

Hart and HOPE
Washington State’s Project HOPE (Health Occupations Preparatory Experience) provides high school students with six-week paid internships at local health facilities in order to interest minority students in health care careers. And Puget Sound Blood Center provided Evergreen High’s Julia Huang with a summer-long volunteer experience as part of HOPE. Kathie Hart, a Blood Center volunteer services coordinator, made it happen in conjunction with Western Washington Area Health Education Center.