Nebraska Medicine has a new partner in saving lives — the Nebraska Community Blood Bank.
Last month, Nebraska Medicine and Methodist Health System began a new partnership with NCBB. The non-profit blood bank is new to Omaha, but has been part of the state’s health care for 50 years.
“This is a forward-thinking partnership that joins our patients’ clinical needs with our shared desire to constantly look for ways to hold down the rise in health care costs,” said Julie Lazure, vice president of clinical operations for Nebraska Medicine.
“We are very fortunate to be able to build on the alliance forged between the Lancaster County Community Blood Bank that was started in 1968 and Memorial Blood Centers in Minnesota that have been in operation since World War II,” said Steven Hinrichs, M.D., professor and chair of the UNMC Department of Pathology and Microbiology and Stokes-Shackleford Professor of Pathology and Microbiology. “Most recently, this partnership has extended to New York and Kansas City. We’re very optimistic about the future of our partnership.”
Blood supply is very important to Nebraska Medicine. Dr. Hinrichs said the med center uses an estimated 30,000 units of blood each year. The blood bank recently opened a new distribution center near 120th & Pacific streets in Omaha. Plans call for a new donor center at that location to open in the spring of 2019.
“We’re looking forward to opening the doors of our new donor center to help serve our new partner hospitals,” said Jeff Allen, chief operating officer of NCBB’s parent company, Innovative Blood Resources. “This partnership will allow us to expand our support for critical patient needs and share our blood product expertise with Omaha hospitals.”
The blood bank will serve both hospitals in the Nebraska Medicine health network, Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine – Bellevue, as well as Methodist’s hospitals in the Omaha metro: Methodist Hospital, Methodist Women’s Hospital, Jennie Edmundson and Fremont Health.
The partnership between NCBB and the health systems was made possible through the Nebraska Health Network, a partnership between Nebraska Medicine and Methodist Health System.