Faculty: Marie Steiner, MD, MS, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota; Chris Silliman, MD, PhD, Professor (tenured) of Pediatrics & Surgery, Bonfils Blood Center

Event Description: Loss of viability and function associated with certain biochemical changes, or storage lesion, is observed in vitro when blood components are stored. Storage lesion in both platelet and red cell components have implications for the patient to whom these components are transfused. In this audioconference, recent strides in discovering the effect of storage lesion on specific recipient groups will be discussed.

Faculty: Trish Callam, MT(ASCP), Director, Partners in Caring, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System; Carol Jennings, Director, Organizational Development and Training and Spiritual Leadership Institute, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System

Event Description: Successful leaders understand the impact of retaining good employees in their business and do not make the assumption that employees are satisfied and will not leave the organization. Research shows that engaged employees are more productive, more customer-focused and more likely to withstand temptations to leave. The most successful organizations make engagement an ongoing priority, understanding the connection between engagement and the organization’s bottom line. In this program, supervisors will learn the drivers of employee engagement and how to apply them to improve retention. They will discover the five retention mistakes employers frequently make and learn the steps to improve employee retention immediately.

Faculty: Lynne Uhl, MD, Medical Director, Transfusion Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Teresa Harris, MT(ASCP)SBB, CQA, CQIA(ASQ), Senior Associate, Immunohematology Reference Laboratory, American Red Cross

Event Description: Sometimes patient samples may present confusing, complex and conflicting serologic findings. In other patients with straight-forward-appearing serology, there may be information that would drive the experienced clinician and/or technologist to question the serology results. In both of these cases, the clinical and serologic history, current therapies and additional serologic investigation will assist the clinician in making informed decisions regarding patient treatment and management. This presentation will include case studies illustrating the problem solving process.

Faculty: Sunitha Vege, MS, Supervisor, American Red Cross; Rebecca Bullock, MT(ASCP)SBB, Manager, Immunohematology Reference Lab and Freezing Lab, American Red Cross

Event Description: Recent advances in Rh molecular testing have greatly expanded our knowledge of this complex blood group system. The use of molecular testing can be used to resolve RhD reagent typing discrepancies. This program will cover specific examples of when molecular testing can be used to enhance and resolve challenging serologic investigations. Background information on the RH gene will be presented with supporting case scenarios.

Faculty: Mary Meeker, Donor Care Manager, United Blood Services; William B. Henry, MBA, Director of Center Operations, United Blood Services

Event Description: This audio conference will give an overview of how a regional blood center effectively communicates with three of the largest segments of the operation, staff, donors, and hospital customers, in a business area that covers approximately 660 square miles. With multiple draw sites and customers as far as 300 miles away, this center has developed ways to successfully deliver necessary messages to each constituency.

Faculty: Suzanne Butch, MA, MT(ASCP)SBB, Administrative Manager, Blood Bank and Transfusion Service, University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers

Event Description: Payment for blood and related services is subject to a complex array of difficult to understand coding and billing policies. In this program, new coding and billing rules for blood products and related services – including the latest Medicare policies – will be explained. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions about transfusion medicine billing issues.

Faculty: Holly Rapp, MT(ASCP)SBB, CQA(ASQ)CMQ/OE, Director, Accreditation and Quality, AABB; Denise Driscoll, MS, MT(ASCP)SBB, Director, Laboratory Accreditation Program, College of American Pathologists

Event Description: The AABB and the College of American Pathologists accreditation programs provide assessment teams to assist in the continual improvement of laboratory quality, safety, and operations. This audioconference will present the most common citations encountered by AABB and CAP assessors in 2009 and provide suggestions on how to avoid noncompliance. Experts will help you identify best practices based on accreditation standards to maintain and enhance your facility’s technical performance.

Faculty: Jerry Holmberg, PhD, MT(ASCP)SBB, Senior Advisor for Blood Policy and Executive Secretary, Department of Health & Human Services

Event Description: Assessment of blood bank and transfusion services is a Quality System Essential that requires a well developed strategy for data collection and the analysis of the data. The importance of blood ordering and utilization assessment through monitoring and audits are not only critical in patient outcome but also are needed in management of limited resources. While ordering of blood products is the responsibility of the physician, the ordering and utilization of blood products can be greatly influenced by the medical guidance from the blood bank or transfusion service. This audioconference will provide principles of audits including data collection, measurement thresholds that trigger an audit, analysis of data, and process improvement. Case studies will be discussed.

Faculty: Susan Johnson, MT(ASCP)SBB, Manager, Immunohematology Services, BloodCenter of Wisconsin, Inc; Peggy Spruell, BS, MT(ASCP)SBB, Day Shift Supervisor, Consultation & Reference Department, Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center

Event Description: In resolving the cause of a positive red cell antibody screen, many tools are employed as part of the antibody identification process. Use of chemicals to denature or enhance the expression of selected red cell antigens can be one such tool. This presentation will cover the principle of chemical use in enhancing or denaturing red cell antigens. It will also explore case studies where the use of chemicals aided in successful identification of a red cell antibody.

Faculty: Von Madsen, MHRM, SPHR, Assistant Vice President, Human Resources Manager, ARUP Laboratories; Jackie Lohdefinck, BS, SPHR, Human Resources Manager, ARUP Laboratories

Event Description: In this session we will explore how to set and manage expectations that empower employees to work independently; lead and motivate employees from various generations, and take corrective action as needed with minimal risk.

Faculty: Bruce Spiess, MD, FAHA, Department of Anesthesiology, Medical College of Virginia; Thomas Brogan, MD, Associate Clinical Director, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Clinical Co-Director, Patient Transport, Clinical Director, ECMO Services

Event Description: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) functions to support pulmonary and cardiac systems to allow them to recover from illness or until surgical correction can be made. It continuously pumps blood through an oxygenator that imitates gas exchange in the lungs. It is most commonly used in pediatric patients. Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) functions as circulatory and pulmonary support to oxygenate and circulate blood. It allows for the ability to warm and cool the patient as well as perfuse vital organs while the central circulation is being surgically corrected and/or changed. This program will describe the theory and indications for ECMO and CPB. The complex transfusion support of patients undergoing CPB and ECMO will be discussed. Mechanisms for adverse events, such as clotting and bleeding will be explained.

Faculty: Terry Gernsheimer, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Puget Sound Blood Center; Brian Curtis, MS, MT(ASCP)SBB, Technical Director, Platelet & Neutrophil Immunology Lab, BloodCenter of Wisconsin

Event Description: This program will provide an overview of basic platelet antibodies including allo-, auto- and drug-induced antibodies and the testing methods used to detect and identify various types of platelet antibodies, as well as provide some insight as to what sorts of technical problems can be seen when performing platelet testing. Review methods to prevent alloimmunization to evaluate the relative effectiveness of leukocyte-reduction, UV-B irradiation, and reducing antigen exposure with single-donor platelets for decreasing the incidence of alloimmune platelet refractoriness. In addition, the speaker will answer questions such as: What leads to refractoriness? Can alloimmunization be prevented (e.g. the TRAP trial data)? What products are the best for patients with antibodies that may or may not have refractory issues? Does ABO type play a role in patients with antibodies?

Faculty: Michael Muskat, JD, Partner, Muskat, Martinez & Mahony, LLP

Event Description: Supervisors have a challenging enough task to engage and retain a workforce without having to deal with the consequences that may result from personnel issues related to employment laws. To avoid problems of this nature, supervisors need a basic understanding of significant employment laws such as Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, and, for federal contractors, the Affirmative Action obligations under Executive Order 11246. This program will familiarize supervisors with the basic information about each law and suggest when it is appropriate to consult with one’s Human Resources department. Secondly, the program will briefly review what supervisors should know about labor unions and what they can or cannot do in a unionizing effort. Finally, participants will learn how to document employee performance in a manner that effectively prevents employment claims and makes such claims easier to defend.

Faculty: Jenny Sharrer, Master of Science in Human Behavior, Training and Organizational Development Consultant, Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center

Event Description: Some managers/supervisors plan to be successful while others just hope for success. Approximately 80% of the population has goals. Of those individuals, approximately 40% write their goals down. The number gets very small when we consider that only about 3% of us time-activate or “calendarize” the tasks required to achieve our goals so we can follow through to make them happen. Planning is bringing the future into the present so we can make our desired future happen! Questions to ask yourself to ensure you are not wasting your time or that of your team members include: “How am I doing on managing our time?” “Do we have clear, prioritized goals?” and “Are we doing what we need to do to have our goals become reality?” This program will help you answer these questions.

Faculty: Arthur Bracey, MD, Medical Director, Transfusion Services, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital; Timothy Hannon, MD, MBA, Medical Director, St. Vincent Hospital

Event Description: Blood bankers are increasingly involved in helping clinicians understand how to use products and also when not to use products. Since its establishment in 2001, the blood management program at St. Vincent Hospital in Indiana has reduced hospital transfusions by over 30%. The medical director of the program will discuss the details of implementing this kind of strategic blood management program. The medical director of transfusion services at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston will share the application of a blood management program in a large surgical hospital using an interdisciplinary approach. As blood management achieves new awareness with The Joint Commission, all involved with the distribution and utilization of blood will want to attend this audio conference.

Faculty: Geralyn Meny, MD, Medical Director, American Red Cross Blood Services

Event Description: This audioconference will provide a brief overview of what a cold agglutinin, both allo and auto, is in blood banking. It will look into ways that blood banks are currently resolving cold-reacting allo and auto antibody issues, in particular, how blood banks can determine if any other clinically significant antibodies are present. Finally, it will look into the typical clinical issues associated with cold agglutinins, especially in situations involving a cardiac patient.