Published by Kirby Winn on Monday, May 22, 2023 in News Releases

ImpactLife joins hospitals and emergency medical services providers in celebrating May 21-27 as Emergency Medical Services Week. The national campaign features messaging to honor the men and women who provide emergency medical services and acknowledge the accomplishments of EMTs and paramedics, while building awareness of their important role across the ImpactLife service region. The week to honor the important contributions of EMS workers comes at a time when ImpactLife is focused on improving blood donation schedules in the days leading up to Memorial Day Weekend and the unofficial start of summer.

To help improve schedules at ImpactLife donor center locations over the next two weeks, the blood center will provide a $25 electronic gift card or 1500 bonus points for donors to use in the ImpactLife Donor Rewards Store from May 22 through June 4. Donors may schedule appointments at ImpactLife donation center locations or mobile blood drives by calling (800) 747-5401, online at www.bloodcenter.org, or via the ImpactLife mobile app (www.bloodcenter.org/app).

EMS Week 2023The theme for Emergency Medical Services Week is “Where Emergency Care Begins” and highlights the importance of timely medical intervention in a crisis. Amanda Hess, Vice President, Donor Relations and Marketing, says blood providers and EMS professionals work together to help save lives. “As a blood provider, we feel that we are partners with emergency service providers. For patients undergoing critical care, we are there helping save lives in those traumatic incidences,” said Hess. “Without those heroes doing the work that they do, people would not survive. And without the blood products emergency services professionals use, people would not survive.”

As the school year comes to an end (and with it the blood center’s schedule of school-based blood drives), ImpactLife is working to maintain a strong and stable blood inventory in the days leading up to Memorial Day Weekend and the first weeks of summer. To thank donors for their support, ImpactLife is now providing a voucher to redeem for the donor’s choice of an electronic gift card or bonus points to use in the blood center’s Donor Rewards store. The value of the electronic gift card has been increased to $25 for donations made at ImpactLife donor center locations from May 22 through June 4. All presenting donors will receive:

  • Whole Blood donation (Donor Center locations ONLY, through June 4): choice of $25 electronic gift card or 1500 bonus points to use in the ImpactLife Donor Rewards Store
  • Whole Blood donation (mobile blood drives ONLY, through June 11): choice of $10 electronic gift card or 500 bonus points to use in the ImpactLife Donor Rewards Store
  • Double Red Cell donations (through June 11): choice of $25 electronic gift card or 1500 bonus points
  • Platelet donation (first or second donation with ImpactLife, through June 11): choice of $50 electronic gift card or 3000 bonus points
  • Platelet donation (donor has made two or more donations with ImpactLife, through June 11): choice of $25 electronic gift card or 1500 bonus points

Donor for Life is the ImpactLife scheduling and rewards program. Donors earn points with each donation to redeem for exclusive items recognizing their impact as a volunteer blood donor. For information, see www.bloodcenter.org/rewards.

About ImpactLife

ImpactLife is a not-for-profit community organization providing blood services to more than 120 hospitals and emergency services providers in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin, as well as resource sharing partners across the country. (For a map of the ImpactLife service region, see www.bloodcenter.org/hospitals.) ImpactLife operates 22 Donor Centers and holds approximately 5000 mobile blood drives annually to provide blood components needed for patient transfusions at hospitals throughout our region.

For more information, see www.bloodcenter.org and find us @impactlifeblood on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube.

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Additional Resources

Interview clips with Amanda Hess, Vice President, Donor Relations and Marketing

Emergency Medical Services Week

EMS Week news release: EMS Week 2023: “Where Emergency Care Begins” (from the American College of Emergency Physicians and the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians)

www.emsweek.org

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About The Author

Kirby Winn

Kirby Winn serves as Manager, Public Relations for ImpactLife. He enjoys working with media across the blood center's service region to share the stories of patients who have been helped by the generous volunteers who support our mission.

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