| Armed Services Blood Program Newsletter |
June 16, 2010 | |
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From the Desk of:
COL Francisco Rentas, Director, ASBPO | |
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In this month's newsletter, we highlight the ASBP's win for Best Ad Campaign 2009 for the second year in a row from the Association of Donor Recruitment Professionals in their "Tools of the Trade" award category. You will also read about Fort Gordon's third annual Marine Mud Challenge events in honor of Armed Forces Day, and the special guest who brought smiles to participants of all ages.
Lastly, we highlight the Armed Services Blood Bank Center - Pacific Northwest, located in Tacoma, Wash. This blood donor center has gone through many changes over the years, and stands strong since its humble beginnings when it was first established in 1986.
Warm regards,
COL Francisco Rentas |
The Armed Services Blood Program Goes to Vietnam Aboard the Mercy 
Lt. j.g. Jacob Hasty, the blood bank officer aboard the U.S. Navy Ship (USNS) Mercy, shares his experiences during the Pacific Partnership 2010 mission, which began May 1 as the ship deployed from San Diego, Calif. As stated in an official press release by the U.S. Navy ( Navy Release), "Pacific Partnership 2010 is the fifth in a series of U.S. Pacific Fleet humanitarian and civic assistance endeavors aimed at strengthening regional relationships with host and partner nations in Southeast Asia and Oceania." The Mercy, the lead ship in the effort, arrived in Vietnam this past Memorial Day, May 31, and opened its operating rooms onboard so that surgical teams could begin humanitarian assistance. After Vietnam, the Mercy will set sail to Cambodia, Indonesia and Timor-Leste during the five month mission.
Hasty notes that the ship currently has about 1,000 personnel onboard, making it a little crowded, but says that didn't stop the dedicated crew from taking on more patients! They have performed between 8-10 surgeries a day since opening the operating room, several of which have been cataract extractions and cleft palate repairs.
Photo: Lt. j.g. Jacob Hasty, Blood Bank Division Officer for USNS Mercy shows Vietnamese lab officers blood donation concepts and techniques. |
ASBP Wins Best Ad Campaign Award for the Second Year in a Row The Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) won Best Ad Campaign 2009 for the second year in a row from the Association of Donor Recruitment Professionals (ADRP) in their "Tools of the Trade," award category. The award was received for the military blood program's "Power of Blood" campaign.
Army Col. Francisco Rentas, director of the Armed Services Blood Program Office, says, "I am extremely proud of our creative team for their innovative approach to spreading the word about the importance of blood donation. It is an honor for the military blood program to be recognized by our donor recruitment peers to win this prestigious award for the second year in a row."
The campaign's hard hitting message, "The Power of Blood Belongs to You!" puts the need for regular blood donations squarely in the hands of the donor and illustrates the very real power that blood donation has to save lives. The campaign was introduced in the Fall of 2009 on 19 military bases worldwide where military blood donor centers are located, and aired throughout the holiday season; a period when blood collection is historically low. Various media were used to spread the message such as movie theater trailers, large-scale banners, digital screen displays, and TV commercials.
Last year, the ASBP was also awarded Best Ad Campaign 2008 for the "What Makes You Think It's Not About You?" campaign featuring donors, volunteers, and blood recipients, with the message that regardless of your affiliation with the ASBP, you too can save lives.
The award was announced at the recent annual donor recruiter's conference in Seattle, Wash., where donor recruitment professionals come together to share ideas and best practices in donor recruitment. This year, for the first time, blood donor recruitment professionals from around the world attending the conference voted for the Best Ad Campaign category.
To learn more about the Armed Services Blood Program, please visit our website.
To learn more about the Association of Donor Recruitment Professionals (ADRP), visit www.adrp.org.
Photo, left to right: The ASBP Creative Team: Sarah Lopez, Giovanni Rodriguez, Julie Oliveri, Melissa Yu |
Blood Meets Mud at Fort Gordon Marine Mud Challenge
Fort Gordon's third annual Marine Mud Challenge was held in observance of Armed Forces Day, and was a day of sweat, hard work, plenty of mud, and most of all, fun! Participants ranged from adults to kids as young as five.
The first challenge of the day was a 4.5 mile obstacle course complete with a mountain of red Georgia dirt doused by the Fort Gordon fire department to create a mudslide. Some watched with glee, and others with dread as over 1,000 brave, mud-loving participants, ranging from uber-competitive, highly trained athletes to fun seekers looking to complete the course with their team. Over 800 adults ran the course, and over 200 kids ran the abbreviated, non-competitive one-mile challenge - more than double the number that participated in last year's event!
So, in this mix of sweat, camaraderie and mud, came...blood?
Photo: Hank the blood drop poses with two muddy participants after the kids' portion of the 2010 Marine Mud Challenge at Fort Gordon on May 15, 2010. |
Blood Donor Center Spotlight:
Armed Services Blood Bank Center - Pacific Northwest
Fort Lewis, Wash. The Armed Services Blood Bank Center - Pacific Northwest (ASBBC-PNW) located at Fort Lewis, Wash. is unique from other Armed Services Blood Program donor centers. It was established in 1986 after the Armed Services Blood Program created the Department of Defense's first tri-service staffed strategic blood center. In order to implement this plan, the smaller hospital-based donor centers of the Army, Navy, and Air Force in California were combined to form an able-bodied team to collect, process, test, and ship blood to the region's military transfusion services from Fort Ord, California. The concept was a resounding success. In September 1993 the ASBBC was moved from Fort Ord, due to the shut-down of the post under the base realignment and closure program, to a new home at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash. The ASBBC eventually incorporated the donor center operations from Naval Hospital Bremerton, which allowed them to meet the region's quota to support the military contingency blood supply, in addition to meeting the blood needs of the military hospitals in the Puget Sound area. During this period the ASBBC not only collected and processed whole blood, but also did their own enzyme immunoassay testing of these units. However, in January 2005, via ASBPO guidance to centralize donor testing, the center began sending samples for enzyme immunoassay testing and nucleic acid testing to Fort Hood, Texas. In October 2007, the ASBBC moved once again to its current location at the Madigan Annex (previously known as Old Madigan).
To read more about the donor center's history, visit the ASBBC-PNW's website at Photo: Joint Base Lewis-McChord Blood Bank Center building |
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