RIVERHEAD, NY (JANUARY 25 2023)—In recognition of January being National Blood Donor Month, Peconic Bay Medical Center (PBMC) recently announced that 2022’s staff blood drive initiatives yielded 213 pints of blood and provided an estimated 639 patients with vital access to blood transfusions. As Peconic Bay Medical Center plans to expand its emergency department to accommodate the drastic increase in critical care patients, efforts like PBMC’s blood drives are essential to providing lifesaving resources for Eastern Long Islanders.
“Across each of our internal blood drives, we had a great turnout, with an estimated 639 people being able to receive blood transfusions as a result of these much-needed donations,” said Peconic Bay Medical Center Executive Director Amy Loeb, EdD, MBA, RN. “Our employees are aware of the ongoing blood shortage. We know that an incident can occur at any moment that can put anyone in a situation where they would need a blood transfusion. I’m thankful to our team for their ongoing efforts to give back to their community through these lifesaving blood drives.”
According to the Red Cross, every two seconds, someone in the United States is in need of blood. Patients in surgery, undergoing cancer treatment and who experienced blood loss as a result of a traumatic injury all receive blood transfusions. In 2022, Peconic Bay Medical Center held three employee-only blood drives to give back to the community. The hospital received 72 pints of donated blood in January, 84 in July and 57 in November.
This year, PBMC will continue to hold employee blood drives to help those in need.