March 16, 2009

Contact:  Kim Bednarz, 281-637-7293, kbednarz@sleh.com
               

St. Luke’s Sugar Land Hospital Hosts First Blood Drive, Exceeds Collection Goal

Sugar Land, Texas – St. Luke’s Sugar Land Hospital hosted its first Blood Drive benefiting the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Bank.  Forty-one donors offered blood, with 35 units being collected.  The goal for the first time collection was 21 units, which resulted in the hospital collecting 166% of its goal.  In addition to blood being collected, 23 hospital employees were registered in the National Bone Marrow Registry.

This drive, which was held in conjunction with the Gulf Coast Blood Bank’s Commit for Life program, will touch as many as 105 lives.  The partnership between St. Luke’s Sugar Land Hospital and the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is focused on saving lives, today and in the future.  A regular number of voluntary donations are required every day to meet the need for blood in the Texas Gulf Coast and East Texas Regions.

“We feel that it is our hospital’s civic responsibility to host these blood drives, said Beryl O. Ramsey, Chief Executive Officer, St. Luke’s Sugar Land Hospital, and Vice President, St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System.  “On a daily basis we see the need for donating blood, and we see the life saving results of having blood available.  We will continue to host these drives on a regular basis, and in addition, we have a new employee blood drive program which will kick off in the spring.”

For more information about blood donation, Contact Araceli Huerta at ahuerta@sleh.com.