HOXWORTH BLOOD CENTER DIRECTOR NAMED ACCA PRESIDENT- ELECT

Monday, April 17, 2017

(CINCINNATI, April 17, 2017)— Ronald Sacher, MD, director of Hoxworth Blood Center, has been named the 2018 president-elect of the American Clinical and Climatological Association (ACCA). Founded in 1884, the ACCA is the oldest medical society in the United States. ‘Climatological’ refers to the fact that climate was a key factor in the treatment of tuberculosis, a major health problem when the society was formed. Read more >>Sacher ACCA president-elect

HemaTerra IT Synergistics

Friday, March 03, 2017

HemaTerra Technologies is pleased to announce a new relationship with IT Synergistics to reduce the cost of operations and redundant data entry for our mutual clients. Organizations using HemaTerra’s integrated products – HemaConnect donor recruitment, HemaControl order entry and inventory management, and HemaComply product QC and equipment management – who also use IT Synergistics’ LifeTec Elite / DoVac Elite systems will now have even greater efficiencies in their operations. Read more >>

BloodCenter of Wisconsin, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Fresenius Kabi collaborate in first-of-its-kind pilot to track blood digitally

Monday, February 06, 2017

Milwaukee, Wis., — February 6, 2017 — BloodCenter of Wisconsin, part of Versiti, and Fresenius Kabi, have launched a pilot program at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin using radio frequency identification technology (RFID) to digitally track blood usage and inventory. Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin is the first pediatric hospital in the country to use RFID in the area of transfusion medicine, the hospital said. Fresenius Kabi is a global health care company that specializes in medicines and technologies for infusion, transfusion and clinical nutrition.

The project involves the use of specialized RFID tags applied to blood bags prior to shipment to hospitals. These tags can be tracked automatically as the blood moves through the hospital, and to the point at which it is used to treat patients. This process allows for real-time information designed to help health care professionals optimize the availability of their blood supply.

The use of RFID allows for the sharing of blood component inventory data easily and quickly between blood centers and hospitals.
“This innovative approach to tracking our hospital’s blood supply will provide visibility to the location, usage and inventory status of our blood products,” said Jason Jarzembowski, MD, PhD, medical director of the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin laboratory. “We can better manage our blood supply and plan for what is needed – optimizing the use of the life-saving gifts by blood donors.”
The RFID technology electronically tracks the blood from the time it leaves BloodCenter of Wisconsin, to the hospital’s transfusion service area, and on to use of the products. Children’s Hospital and BloodCenter can jointly look at the movement of products to better inform immediate need and inventory status.
“Getting the right blood products to the right patient more efficiently helps to reduce costs, which is a critical priority in health care today,” said Dean Gregory, president, Medical Devices, for Fresenius Kabi in North America. “We call this technology ‘CompoTrace’ and it’s designed specifically to help improve the vital supply chain of care between blood centers, hospitals and patients.”

The CompoTrace pilot program at BloodCenter of Wisconsin and Children’s Hospital began in October 2016 and will conclude in February 2017. Fresenius Kabi is planning similar projects at other hospitals in 2017.

BloodCenter of Wisconsin spearheaded the use of RFID technology in non-pediatric transfusion medicine environments in 2006 under a National Institutes of Health grant.

About BloodCenter of Wisconsin
BloodCenter of Wisconsin, part of Versiti, is a not-for-profit organization that specializes in blood services, organ, tissue and marrow donation, diagnostic testing, medical services and leading-edge research. BloodCenter of Wisconsin is the exclusive provider of blood to hospitals in 30 Wisconsin counties, as well as to hospitals and patients across the country. BloodCenter of Wisconsin advances patient care by delivering life-saving solutions grounded in unparalleled medical and scientific expertise. For more information, visit www.bcw.edu.

About Versiti
Versiti is a strategic affiliation of successful health care organizations whose vision is to improve the health of patients as the national leader in innovative transfusion solutions for health care systems. Working together, Versiti offers hospitals a more comprehensive range of services, including transfusion medicine, transplantation, stem cell and cellular therapies, hematology, oncology and genomics. At Versiti, they are passionate about improving the lives of their patients and hospital partners. Versiti’s expertise and resources lead to new products, solutions and services to meet patient and hospital needs. For more information, visit www.Versiti.org.

About Fresenius Kabi
Fresenius Kabi is a global health care company that specializes in medicine and technologies for infusion, transfusion and clinical nutrition. The company’s product and services are used to help care for critically and chronically ill patients. The company’s U.S. headquarters is in Lake Zurich, Illinois. The company’s global headquarters is in Bad Homburg, Germany. For more information about Fresenius Kabi in the United States, please visit www.fresenius-kabi.u.s.

About Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin is an independent health care system dedicated solely to the health and well-being of children. The hospital, with locations in Milwaukee and Neenah, Wisconsin, is recognized as one of the leading pediatric health care centers in the United States. It is ranked in all 10 specialty areas in U.S. News & World Report’s 2016-17 Best Children’s Hospitals report. Children’s provides primary care, specialty care, urgent care, emergency care, community health services, foster and adoption services, child and family counseling, child advocacy services and family resource centers.

Versiti Board Announces New President and Chief Executive Officer

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Versiti Board Announces New President
and Chief Executive Officer

Milwaukee, Wis., — December 14, 2016 – Versiti, Inc., a healthcare organization focused on improving the health of patients and enabling the success of its health care partners in the fields of transfusion medicine, transplantation and blood related diseases, today announced that its Board of Directors has selected Chris Miskel as President and Chief Executive Officer following an extensive search. Miskel will join Versiti effective February 1, 2017.

Miskel will provide leadership for Versiti and its four affiliates: BloodCenter of Wisconsin, headquartered in Milwaukee Wis., Indiana Blood Center headquartered in Indianapolis, Heartland Blood Centers, headquartered in Chicago, Ill, and Michigan Blood, headquartered in Grand Rapids. Miskel succeeds current BloodCenter of Wisconsin and Versiti President and CEO Jacquelyn Fredrick, who announced that she would retire from the position effective February 3, 2017.

“Chris’ passion for our mission, keen appreciation for research and science, and his business experience in the health care industry, make him uniquely qualified to lead Versiti during this transformative and exciting time in healthcare,” said Versiti board chair Dick Fotsch. “We were committed to finding a new leader that would perpetuate the many successes that Jackie has led to keep Versiti at the forefront of a rapidly changing healthcare environment and to advance our mission of becoming a national leader in innovative solutions to meet the unique blood-related needs of our customers.”

“Chris comes to Versiti from Baxter International/Shire and Eli Lilly and Company with broad ranges of experience and accomplishments in serving the health care community through innovation, including leading a global immunology franchise, new product development, strategy development, leading Lilly Australia and New Zealand, operations and business development in bio-medicines, merger and acquisitions and finance functions,” said Peter Ziegler, search committee chair and immediate past chair of Versiti. “Chris will be charged with expanding Versiti’s long standing commitment to excellence in research, medicine, and innovation that has established Versiti and BloodCenter of Wisconsin as an internationally respected transfusion medicine, transplantation and blood-related diseases organization for the last 70 years.”

Miskel is a graduate of Butler University in Indianapolis with a degree in Business Administration. He later earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. Miskel worked for Eli Lilly and Company from 1996 to 2013 and for Baxter/Baxalta/Shire from 2013 to 2016.

“It is an honor and privilege to be selected as the next CEO of Versiti,” said Miskel. “I would like to express my sincere, heartfelt appreciation to Dick, Peter, and the entire search committee for this tremendous opportunity. Versiti’s mission is inspiring, and I’m thrilled to continue the extraordinary journey that Jackie has led with our exceptionally talented colleagues across Versiti. – MORE –

Page 2, Versiti Board Announced New President and Chief Executive Officer

About Versiti
Versiti is an organization of successful healthcare organizations whose vision is to improve
the health of patients as the national leader in providing innovative and value-added solutions to meet the unique blood related needs of each of our customers. Working together, Versiti
offers hospitals a more comprehensive range of services, including transfusion medicine, transplantation, stem cell and cellular therapies, hematology, oncology and genomics. At Versiti, we are passionate about improving the lives of patients by helping our healthcare partners solve their toughest challenges. Versiti’s expertise and resources lead to new products, solutions and services to meet patient and hospital needs. For more information, visit www.Versiti.org.

About BloodCenter of Wisconsin
BloodCenter of Wisconsin, part of Versiti, is a not-for-profit organization headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., that specializes in blood services, esoteric diagnostic testing, organ, tissue and stem cell donation, medical services and leading-edge research. We advance patient care by delivering life-saving solutions grounded in unparalleled medical and scientific expertise. The collective efforts of Versiti affiliates result in improved patient outcomes, expanded access to care, and cost efficiencies for healthcare systems nationwide. For more information, visit www.bcw.edu.

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BloodCenter of Wisconsin and Eastman Chemical Company announce new blood bag clinical trial results

Monday, November 14, 2016

Study supports viable alternative for blood bag plasticizers

Kingsport, Tenn., November 14, 2016 — BloodCenter of Wisconsin (BCW, part of Versiti) and Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) have announced the results of a recent clinical trial evaluating a new plasticizer for blood bags. While di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) has provided the medical industry with a stable ortho-phthalate plasticizer for many years, regulatory trends and consumer demands will inevitably drive the industry to non-phthalate alternatives. The clinical trial results demonstrate that Eastman 168™ SG non-phthalate plasticizer, a sensitive-grade DEHT, is a viable alternative for medical applications.

“Blood bags are one of the most challenging applications in the plastics market,” says Eastman Market Development Manager Mark Brucks. “BCW’s research is important because it demonstrates a viable alternative for those who have concerns around using DEHP in sensitive applications like blood bags, and it’s also a testament to the importance of material suppliers and institutions working together to find safer solutions.”

The clinical trial findings were presented at the 2016 AABB Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, on Oct. 24 by Sharon Graminske, manager of applied research laboratory at BloodCenter of Wisconsin. Entitled “In Vitro Evaluation of DEHT Plasticized PVC Blood Bags for Red Blood Cell Storage in AS-1 and PAGGSM Preservative Solutions,” Graminske’s presentation highlighted the trend driving the need for DEHP alternatives as well as the preliminary results supporting DEHP replacement with DEHT, a non-phthalate general-purpose plasticizer.
“Our work with Eastman has provided valuable results that will benefit the blood banking industry,” said Kathleen Puca, M.D., BloodCenter medical director and principal investigator who oversaw the findings reported by Graminske. “The DEHT trial results offer new insight about a well-established plasticizer that has now been proven to have an even broader application within health care — providing safer blood products.”

Further work is being completed on plasma to validate performance. “Eastman 168 SG is a proven, tested, and toxicologically clean solution for the medical market,” says Brucks. “By working closely with BCW, we are able to extend the utility of Eastman 168 SG into this application, offering customers a cost-effective alternative that performs to standard so that they can confidently make the switch from DEHP when they are ready.”

BloodCenter of Wisconsin’s Clinical Trials and Cellular Therapy Services provide a full spectrum of services for clinical trials (preclinical and phases I–IV) in a wide range of therapeutic areas. BloodCenter of Wisconsin has assisted pharmaceutical and medical device companies with regulatory studies, laboratory testing, assay development and a variety of other research needs for more than 30 years.

For more information on products enabling flexibility in the medical market, visit www.EastmanPlasticizers.com.

About Blood Center of Wisconsin
BloodCenter of Wisconsin, part of Versiti, is a not-for-profit organization headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., that specializes in blood services; diagnostic testing; organ, tissue and marrow donation; medical services and leading-edge research. We advance patient care by delivering life-saving solutions grounded in unparalleled medical and scientific expertise. The collective efforts of Versiti affiliates result in improved patient outcomes, expanded access to care and cost efficiencies for health care systems nationwide. For more information, visit www.bcw.edu and www.versiti.org.
About Eastman
Eastman is a global specialty chemical company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With a portfolio of specialty businesses, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. Its market-driven approaches take advantage of world-class technology platforms and leading positions in attractive end markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables. Eastman focuses on creating consistent, superior value for all stakeholders. As a globally diverse company, Eastman serves customers in approximately 100 countries and had 2015 revenues of approximately $9.6 billion. The company is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA, and employs approximately 15,000 people around the world. For more information, visit www.eastman.com.