Holiday blood drive at Sherman Hospital set for Dec. 22
Elgin, Ill. - Adding "donate blood" to the top your holiday to-do list could provide a lifesaving gift for someone this holiday season.
Donation centers seek blood products year-round to supply health care facilities across the country, but the need over the holidays is greater as high school and college students go on break and fewer blood drives are held.
"It's a commitment, but people need to understand what a lifesaving effort donating blood is," says Dr. Bruce Hyman, vice president of medical management at Sherman Hospital in Elgin. "You want it on the shelf when you need it. It's vital for hospitals to stock adequately for emergencies and trauma situations."
Sherman Hospital is partnering with Heartland Blood Centers for a blood drive from noon to 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 22 in the lower level conference rooms B and C, located at 1425 N. Randall Road.
All donors will receive a $10 Target gift card.
Advocate Health Care partners with several donation centers to host blood drives and maintain blood supply levels. People of all blood types, particularly O negative, A negative and B negative, as well as platelet donors, are urged to donate.
More than 41,000 blood donations are needed each day, and one pint of blood has the ability to save three lives, according to the American Red Cross, although it is estimated that 38 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate, less than 10 percent actually do.
At Sherman Hospital, about 85 units of whole blood are on hand each day, as well as several other blood products. Staff typically transfuses about 300 units a month, with a vast majority used for cardiac events, traumas and orthopedic surgeries.
Photo identification is required to donate. Although appointments are preferred, walk-ins are welcome. Participates are encouraged to eat and drink plenty of fluids prior to donating.
To schedule an appointment, visit www.heartlandbc.org or call (800) 786-4483.
About Advocate Sherman Hospital
Named the fifth most beautiful hospital in the U.S. by Soliant Health and built in 2009, the 255-bed Advocate Sherman Hospital features all private patient rooms, a 15-acre geothermal lake to heat and cool the facility, an advanced Emergency Department with a level II trauma center, a spacious Family Birthing Center and Special Care Nursery, a Heart & Vascular Center, a Cancer Care Center and a bright, open design to contribute to the healing process. Advocate Sherman is a certified Primary Stroke Center, Breast Center and Chest Pain Center, and also received a 2011 Silver Award from Illinois Performance Excellence (ILPEX). In 2012, it achieved Magnet® nursing status - the highest national standard for nursing excellence. Advocate Sherman provides services across the whole continuum of care, including three immediate care/outpatient centers, an imaging center and a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility. Advocate Sherman employs more than 2,200 individuals, has more than 600 dedicated physicians on its medical staff and is part of the Advocate Health Care network. For more information, visit AdvocateHealth.com/Sherman or call (800) 3-Advocate.
About Advocate Health Care
Advocate Health Care, named among the nation's Top 5 largest health systems by Truven Analytics in 2013, is the largest health system in Illinois and one of the largest health care providers in the Midwest. Advocate operates more than 250 sites of care, including 10 acute care hospitals and the state's largest integrated children's network. As a nonprofit, mission-based health system affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Church of Christ, Advocate contributed $571 million in charitable care and services to communities across the Chicago area and Central Illinois in 2011.