Bacardi Wins Corporate Blood Drive 2017 Competition

14 June 2017: Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) and the Ministry of Health and Seniors today announce that Bacardi is the winner of the Corporate Blood Drive 2016/17.  This is the fourth Corporate Blood Drive that has taken place, and this annual competition between local companies had the highest ever number of competitors. Bacardi has been awarded the revolving trophy and a certificate to thank them for their commitment to saving lives and caring for those with therapeutic transfusion needs, such as sickle cell and cancer patients.

There were 423 blood donations as a result of the competition – 384 whole blood donations and 39 apherisis donations.  Of these, 79 were from Bacardi who contributed 18.7% of all donations of the competition.  New blood donor numbers rose by 195 in 2016, compared to 52 in 2015, in large part thanks to people signing up as part of this competition.

This year there were nineteen contestants: Appleby, Ariel Re, Argus, Artex, Bacardi, Bermuda Government Department of Corrections, Bermuda Government Department of Accountant General,  Bermuda Police Service, BF&M, Butterfield & Vallis, Estera, FIL Limited, Gosling, HSBC, Kitson Group of Companies, Marsh IAS Management Services (Bermuda) Ltd., Lancashire, the Royal Bermuda Regiment and XL Catlin.

Minister of Health and Seniors, The Hon. Jeanne Atherden JP, MP, comments: “It has been a very active competition this year and I would first like to congratulate Bacardi on a well-earned win.  They contributed nearly a fifth of all the donations, which is amazing. And thank you to all nineteen companies who participated.  You have contributed to an increased number of blood donors in Bermuda.  Your support of employees donating during work time and promoting the competition to them, and their families and friends has made a big difference this year. ”

Dr Clyde Wilson, BHB Chief of Pathology, comments: “Congratulations to Bacardi and thank you to all our competitors – the competition this year has been terrific as you can see from the impact it has had on increased donors and donations.  Bacardi fought hard, with internal promotions and six blood drives to encourage their staff, friends and families to donate. The 195 new blood donors helped bolster numbers, as other donors retired or moved away from Bermuda.  Total donors went up from 968 to 1095. So thank you for supporting this competition.  I can think of no better return on investment than more people in Bermuda donating blood and saving lives.

Dr Eyitayo Fakunle, Consultant Haematologist, comments: “Even with the new donors this year, we are keen to encourage more people to donate. The needs in our community are rising. The hospital has been working at capacity for much of this year and this resulted in the number of transfusions rising by 300 between 2015/16 when there were 1711 transfusions and 2016/17 when there were 2006 transfusions.  The need for blood transfusions goes up as people age and our community is getting older so we expect the numbers to keep going up.  882 or 43.8% of all transfusions were given to people over 64 in 2016. The need increases in line with age so we urge you to think of your parents and grandparents wellbeing, as well as your siblings, friends and children.  There is no greater gift you can give them than the gift of life and it couldn’t be easier for company sign up for the 2017/18 competition – just call or email the Blood Donor Centre at blood.donor@bhb.bm or 236-5067 and we’ll send you the form.”

Lisa Frias, Manager, Global Finance, Bacardi, led the Bacardi effort and comments: “We really decided to commit ourselves to the competition this year and our staff members are thrilled to have won. It has been a great team effort and we hope that we have thrown down the gauntlet for next year – we are certainly ready to win again!  Thank you to all our staff – achieving 18.3% of all donations in the competition shows how dedicated we are to this cause and it is in line with Bacardi’s value of caring.  Blood donation is incredibly important to saving lives and therapeutic treatments, and as a company we are very happy to be supporting our community in a tangible way. ”

Blood Transfusion usage by age:

About Blood Donation

• Bermuda uses about 35 to 45 units of blood per week (one unit is one donated pint of blood)
• Most healthy people between 18 and 70, who weigh a minimum of 110lbs, can donate blood.
• Globally, about 38% of donations are from people under 25. In Bermuda, only 4% of donors are under 25 years of age.
• Globally about 6% of the population (or 45 people out every 1,000) donate. In Bermuda, less than 2% of the total population donates (about 17 out of every 1,000).
• When you donate blood, one pint is taken which is then separated into different components.
• Donors replenish the volume of blood donated within 24 hours and can safely donate blood once every three months.
• To ensure a donor is healthy enough to give blood, donors are asked to fill out a questionnaire and their blood pressure and haemoglobin is checked.
• The entire process, including pre-testing, donating and time for refreshments afterwards takes about half an hour.
• Healthy blood is vital to us all. It has three major functions: to carry oxygen and nutrients to the body cells so they can create energy; to help defend the body against infections and injuries; and to remove waste products from the body cells.
• The average adult contains 10 to 12 pints of blood, which contains many substances including red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma.

Community survey to help shape clinical services at BHB

12 May 2017: Bermuda Hospitals Board today invites the community to share their perspectives on what is important about BHB services with a survey. The anonymous online survey is being shared as part of BHB’s Clinical Services Planning project. The goal of the project is to listen to feedback, review healthcare data, and speak to various BHB and external stakeholders in order to identify the services BHB should provide the community going forward.

The survey can be accessed at www.surveymonkey.com/r/BHBClinicalServicePlanning. The link can also be found at bermudahospitals.bm and on the BHB Facebook page.

BHB Chief Nurse and Project Lead Judy Richardson comments: “Healthcare needs have changed drastically since the Bermuda Hospitals Act 1970 first listed mandated services, and reviewing what services BHB should offer and how BHB fits within the overall health system is well overdue. At the launch of our strategic plan last year, we adopted the triple aim of improving the patient experience, reducing the per capita cost of care and improving population health.

“Our Clinical Services Planning process will be making recommendation on how we think BHB can best achieve these goals through the delivery of clinical services across King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute and the Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre. Listening to our staff, physicians, and external stakeholders in the healthcare system and community is a critical part of this project, and we hope people in Bermuda will participate so their perspectives can help shape our eventual recommendations.”

The Clinical Services Planning process is currently in its information gathering phase. Detailed data analysis will take place over the summer, and further opportunities to participate for staff and stakeholders will take place in early fall. The goal is to have a plan with recommendations for the public in January 2018.

Download the BHB Clinical Services Survey Flyer

Twelve Bermudians graduate as emergency medical technicians

20 March 2017: Twelve new Bermudian emergency medical technicians, or EMTs, have recently been added to the island’s dwindling corps of first responders. The group made history as the first graduating cohort of the pilot programme of a partnership between Bermuda College, the Bermuda Hospitals Board, and the Bermuda Fire & Rescue Services.

The local programme has also been validated by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT), another first, and an accomplishment which Dr Edward Schultz, Chief of Emergency & Hyperbaric Services at KEMH, described as “ground-breaking”. The Registry provides national certification of standards and competency, and is recognised in every state in the United States. It is the first time that the Registry has been allowed to be used internationally.

“This means that Bermuda is now recognised as a designated authorising agency for the NREMT, and that students of the EMT training course offered through Bermuda College are entitled to sit the Basic EMT certifying exam, and if successful gain full NREMT reciprocity in the United States,” he said, crediting the hard work of EMT-Paramedic David Duperreault, formerly of the Bermuda Fire & Rescue Service.

The significance was echoed by BHB Chief EMT Officer Walter Brangman. “This programme was a lot of work but has been very rewarding for me. I’m so pleased to have worked with these 12 dedicated students and witnessed first-hand their passion and drive to make the grade. It takes commitment to complete a course like this and the skills they’ve acquired put us in good stead as a country with world-class, highly trained EMTs readily available.”

Three of the 12 new graduates have already sat and passed the NREMT exam, allowing them to practice locally or anywhere in the United States. Two of the students, Mahkye Steede and Armani Wears, have already secured employment at the Bermuda Fire Services.

Karen Smith, Programme Coordinator of the EMT course at Bermuda College’s PACE Division, credited the teamwork as a main component of the programme’s success. “PACE is always poised to provide customised training leading to certification for local and international programmes,” she said. “The EMT programme is a perfect example of how the College and industry can collaborate to meet the demands of the workforce in a timely manner. I’m proud that the Bermuda Hospitals Board, through Mr Brangman; the Bermuda Fire & Rescue Service, through the efforts of Arnold Botelho, RN and EMT Coordinator; and Bermuda College, specifically the efforts of Kathy-Ann Swan RN, together, were able to design a high quality programme that will serve the industry for years to come.”

Both emergency services anticipate continued job openings in the next three to five years. The 15-week course will launch its second cohort this fall. For more information contact Karen Smith at Bermuda College.

This is a joint release from Bermuda Hospitals Board and Bermuda College.

Corporate Blood Drive competition heats up

17 March 2017: Businesses participating in the 2017 Corporate Blood Drive are scheduling special blood donor drives to maximise their chance of winning the competition, which is helping maintain vital blood supplies for people in Bermuda. Over the last few weeks, a Bacardi blood drive encouraged 17 staff donate, Argus had 11 and Ariel Re had nine.

The Corporate Blood Drive is an annual competition between businesses in Bermuda, organised by the Bermuda Blood Donor Centre in partnership with the Ministry of Health & Seniors.

Dr Eyitayo Fakunle, consultant haematologist, comments: “The Corporate Blood Drive is meant to be fun and morale boosting – it is all about people coming together to benefit the community. The blood donated through the competition is adding to the regular donor pool to save lives and treat many patients each day in Bermuda. We are very grateful to all our competing businesses and regular donors in Bermuda, but special mention has to be made at this point for Bacardi, Argus and Ariel Re who have been active in organising special blood drives for their employees.

“The competition is definitely heating up this year: Bacardi and Ariel Re have shown great dedication with three special blood drives since June last year, and Argus had a Valentine’s blood promotion this month after a special presentation by the Blood Donor Centre staff near the end of last year.”

Blood donations are used to save lives in emergency situation, for example after an accident or in childbirth, but even more units are used each month in therapies for people with more chronic disease needs, such as sickle cell, dialysis and cancer patients.

Dr Fakunle finishes: “The competition is not yet over and all 19 competing businesses can put in a special effort in the last four months and perhaps win the trophy. Bacardi is currently in the lead, but it’s not too late for other competitors to catch up. We’d remind all participating companies that they can also invite family and friends to donate too – it will all count to their final tally. We wish all 19 competitors the best of luck and would remind all local businesses that the next Corporate Blood Drive Competition will start in June this year. The numbers of competitors is going up each year and we sincerely hope we can encourage even more participation – it is making a huge difference for so many individuals lives in Bermuda.”

To find out more about the Corporate Blood Drive, or to set an appointment to donate blood as an individual, call 236-5067.