Ensuring Blood Availability for Mass Casualty Events

Sunday, October 20, 2024

8:15 AM - 9:15 AM

Location: 332

CE: 1 CME (AMA Physician Credit) / 1 CE (Non-Physician Credit)

Program Chair(s)

Nelson Hellwig, MBA

CEO / Administrator
ACTS / Blood Emergency Readiness Corps
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

PDF

Speaker(s)

Belinda Flores, MA

Senior Director of Product Management & Customer Relations
South Texas Blood and Tissue
San Antonio, Texas, United States

Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
Amanda Hess, MBA (she/her/hers)

VP Donor Relations and Marketing
ImpactLife
Davenport, Iowa, United States

Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

Disclosure(s):

Nelson Hellwig, MBA: No financial relationships to disclose

Belinda A. Flores, MA: No financial relationships to disclose

Amanda Hess, MBA: No financial relationships to disclose

Session Desription: Until recently, there was no coordinated effort to ensure blood would be available in times of mass casualty events. Session will review some of the larger events in recent history, along with blood needs, explain how a group of seven community blood centers of came together to create a reserve for such events, and detail how the group has grown to now 36 blood centers across the U.S. and has been successful in supply emergency blood products for more recent events.

To date, the Blood Emergency Readiness Corps (BERC) program has supported blood product needs following the 2021 Collierville Kroger shooting (Collierville, TN), the 2021 Oxford High School shooting (Oxford Township, MI), the Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021, the Robb Elementary School Shooting (Uvalde, TX) on May 14, 2022, the tornado outbreak sequence primarily impacting Perrytown, TX in the Texas Panhandle on June 15, 2023, and the North Texas tornado outbreak (Cooke, Collin and Denton counties) on May 26, 2024.

Session will show examples of how blood centers have utilized the program to better partner with their local first responder groups and other governmental agencies, and will also demonstrate the program's ability to strengthen donor recruitment efforts which in turn leads to a more robust blood supply.

Learning Objectives:

Explain the need for an organized plan to ensure blood products are available in the immediate aftermath of a mass casualty event.
Discuss how blood operators can work in a coordinated effort to ensure there is a ready reserve of blood products for mass casualty events.
Discuss the strength of the community blood center model and how these blood centers can work together for a common good.
Examine programs such as this can help with donor recruitment; particularly with first responder and governmental entities."