PHH Blood Supplier
Photo courtesy of Community Blood Bank

PHH Names System Blood Supplier

Blood donation is very important to all healthcare organizations, and Penn Highlands Healthcare is no exception.

“Blood products are used regularly at our hospitals,” according to Marsha Uhl, service line director for Laboratory Services at Penn Highlands Healthcare. They are used for cancer patients, people with anemia, surgery patients, women during and after delivery, premature babies and accident victims.

To ensure its blood supply is readily available, hospitals enter into agreements with organizations who collect, screen, test and deliver blood.

Penn Highlands Healthcare has selected Community Blood Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania and Western New York to be the exclusive supplier of blood products to Penn Highlands Clearfield, Penn Highlands Brookville and Penn Highlands DuBois as of July 1, 2018.

“Community Blood Bank has been the blood provider to Penn Highlands Elk for 15 years, and during that time we’ve experienced first-hand Community Blood Bank’s commitment to quality, safety, reliability and customer service,” Uhl said. They will continue to be the exclusive blood supplier to Penn Highlands Elk, as well.

According to its mission statement, the Community Blood Bank is a thriving, independent, customer focused blood provider dedicated to strengthening regional partnerships through the generosity of donors.
It is a non-profit organization, the Community Blood Bank has been providing a safe, reliable supply of volunteer blood to patients in need since 1966. The Community Blood Bank is the predominant provider of blood and blood products to hospitals in Erie, Warren, McKean, Tioga, Potter, Mercer, Venango and Elk Counties and Titusville Area. The Community Blood Bank is also the preferred provider of blood products to hospitals in Chautauqua and Allegany Counties.

The Community Blood Bank is dedicated to guaranteeing an adequate supply of blood for all patients seeking medical services to our partner hospitals in Northwest Pennsylvania and Western New York.
“Community Blood Bank is enthusiastic about partnering with Penn Highlands Healthcare. We are dedicated to ensuring that our network of hospitals has an adequate supply of blood and blood products for every patient in need, in every community we serve,” said Jennifer Brownlee, Community Blood Bank community relations manager. She also stresses that Community Blood Bank relies on local donors to meet the needs of local patients. Brownlee is confident in the organization’s ability to become an integral part of the health system’s and community’s blood supply.

By extending this partnership, those who donate blood will notice there will be blood drives hosted by the Community Blood Bank, or CBB, at our hospitals. These will replace those previously hosted by the American Red Cross.

The requirements for donating blood are still the same:

  • Weigh at least 110 pounds;
  • Be at least 17 years old;
  • Be in general good health and eat well before donating;
  • Not receive a tattoo or body piercing in the past 12 months.

“We hope that everyone considers becoming a regular blood donor. Each day life-saving blood transfusions are needed in hospitals and emergency treatment facilities across the U.S., including ours,” Uhl said.
When you arrive at a blood drive, you should be in good health and, according to the Federal Drug Administration, meet the following criteria:

  • Have a photo identification card, such as a work ID with photo or driver’s license, with you;
  • Have a pulse and blood pressure within normal limits;
  • Have a normal temperature;
  • Meet the minimum age requirement per applicable state law;
  • Have a normal blood hemoglobin level;
  • Be free of infections that can be transmitted through blood transfusion, or risk factors closely associated with exposure to these infections;
  • Not have donated blood in the last 56 days.

Some of the criteria that will keep you from donating can include:

  • Not feeling well on the day of donation;
  • Past use of needles to take drugs that were not prescribed by a health care professional;
  • Being a male who has had sexual contact with another male in the past 12 months;
  • Having certain medical conditions or receiving certain medical treatments or medications;
  • Living in or travelling to certain areas for a designated period of time; for example, travelling to an area where malaria is endemic.

To sign up to donate through the Community Blood Bank, we ask that you first register as a new CBB donor. Go to https://www.ourdonorssavelives.org/donor/auth/register and create a new donor account for yourself. Your ID will generate after you donate once, and it may be left blank at this time. Multiple pint donors will have past donations recognized by talking to a CBB blood drive coordinator at a hospital drive.

Blood drives at Penn Highlands Brookville, Penn Highlands Clearfield and Penn Highlands DuBois have appointments. Donors may choose their times by logging in at www.fourhearts.org and searching by town. Walk-ins are welcome but may have to wait for appointments to be honored. Penn Highlands Elk is a “walk-in only” drive.

The next blood drives scheduled at Penn Highlands Healthcare are:

PH Clearfield: 12-5 p.m. at 440 Front St., Clearfield (unless otherwise is announced) on:

  • Fridays, July 6 and 20;
  • Fridays, Aug. 3 and 17;
  • Fridays, Sept. 7 and 21;
  • Fridays, Oct. 5 and 19;
  • Fridays, Nov. 2 and 16;
  • Fridays, Dec. 7 and 21.

PH DuBois: from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Central Resource Center at PH DuBois West on:

  • Friday, July 13;
  • Friday, Sept. 7;
  • Friday, Nov. 2;
  • Friday, Dec. 28.

Penn Highlands Brookville: from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Education Conference Center on:

  • Tuesday, Aug. 28;
  • Tuesday, Oct. 23;
  • Tuesday, Dec. 18.

Penn Highlands Elk: from 11a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Education Center on:

  • Tuesday, July 3;
  • Tuesday, Aug. 7;
  • Tuesday, Sept. 4.

Community members may also host CBB drives. There is one currently being scheduled for the Brookville YMCA in August.
If you would like more information about CBB, please go to www.fourhearts.org or call 1-877-842-0631.