Coffee Memorial Blood Center to Align with Oklahoma Blood Institute
March 2016 — Coffee Memorial Blood Center, Amarillo, is working with Oklahoma Blood Institute (OBI) to pursue alignment of its operations with the Oklahoma City-based non-profit blood center. Employees of both organizations and the 29 hospitals served by Coffee Memorial in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles have been notified of the discussions. Today’s public announcement will enable transparent communications with community and business leaders who will be vital to the continued success of the blood centers.
“This alignment enables us to continue to serve medical facilities throughout the High Plains region to save lives in the midst of a rapidly evolving medical climate,” said Joe McCormick, Coffee Memorial president and CEO. “To sustain an independent, locally-focused, nonprofit blood center, we needed to transition to this new approach to our operations. With OBI’s proximity, exceptional standards and community commitment, they seem to be a great fit.”
“Our priority is to secure the local blood supply for families in the area,” said John Armitage, MD, president and CEO of Oklahoma Blood Institute. “The donors who give with Coffee Memorial understand the life-saving contribution they make for their communities. It’s important to sustain this critical community resource.”
Armitage said that Coffee Memorial Blood Center has been a highly respected neighboring blood center for many years. “Like them, our priorities are focused on the donors and patients of every community we serve.”
Coffee Memorial Blood Center will continue to operate with its established name and maintain a local board of directors. McCormick said that while the two centers still have work to do to shape the new arrangement, blood donors and hospitals will likely see ‘business as usual’. He emphasized that in the midst of change, the need for blood for High Plains’ patients remains a certainty.
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About Coffee Memorial Blood Center: For more than 67 years, Coffee Memorial Blood Center (originally Potter County Memorial Blood Center) has exclusively served medical facilities in the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas. Donors voluntarily give life-saving blood at its Amarillo blood center and blood drives conducted with businesses, schools and organizations in the area. Coffee’s staff produces, tests and, then, transports some 30,000 units of blood needed by patients to local hospitals annually. The nonprofit blood center has demonstrated commitment to excellence in providing a safe and adequate blood supply with quality that patients in the area have come to depend upon.
About Oklahoma Blood Institute: Founded in 1976, OBI is the ninth largest, nonprofit independent blood center in America. Patients in 184 medical facilities rely on its donors for every drop of blood needed to live. Some 1,000 volunteer blood donors are needed each day to meet the needs of those patients. In addition to its Oklahoma City headquarters and laboratories, OBI maintains five donor centers in the Oklahoma City area with regional centers in Ada, Ardmore, Enid, Lawton and Tulsa. OBI also operates the Texas Blood Institute based in Wichita Falls and Arkansas Blood Institute with regional centers in Fort Smith and Little Rock.
