Low Blood Supply![]() This week I attended the Connect Life Blood Collections Committee meeting. During the meeting, the seriousness of the nation's low blood supply was discussed, throughout the pandemic, the growing instability of blood inventories across WNY, and the need for increased conservation as hospital demand goes unmet was discussed. The severity of this situation continues to escalate as staffing challenges and the inability to host larger drives prevent them from restocking inventories as expected. Connect Life is committed to improving the future supply and has taken aggressive measures to recruit and retain staff. However, they stressed it would be months before they will regain the staffing levels needed to keep pace with the current demand. If you would like to help with the blood supply, please click here to find a blood drive to donate or click here to donate at STHCS! EMSC Meeting![]() Alicia and I were able to attend the meeting of the EMS for Children Program Advisory Committee which was hosted by the New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Systems. This advisory committee advises the department, the commissioner, the state emergency medical services council, the state emergency medical advisory committee, and the state trauma advisory committee regarding all aspects of emergency medical services for children, including, but not necessarily limited to, pediatric emergency medical, trauma, and disaster care, and the early care of maltreated children and children with special health care needs. It was great to be able to attend this meeting and update the state on our progress toward establishing Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinators at each EMS agency across the state. We look forward to being able to attend the Vital Signs Conference next month and promoting this project as well! Update Link Navigation Service![]() Here at STHCS; we have many different navigation services to provide! We have navigators that help individuals enroll in health insurance through the NYS of Health Marketplace through our partnership with Health Community Alliance. This service has been very beneficial to our rural community. If you or someone you know needs our health insurance navigation services, contact Toni and Micheyla at (716) 372-0614 or visit our website. We also provide navigation services for caregivers and individuals who need help navigating the many services available for people. This program is supported by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, and we have been able to offer our services to many people in our catchment and have been receiving fantastic feedback thus far! If someone you know needs our caregiver navigation services, contact Taylor at (716) 372-0614 or visit our website. Safe Kids Update![]() Last month, we hosted our quarterly Safe Kids Coalition meeting, and we received a lot of great feedback that has given many new ideas to start working on with our coalition! We are always open to individuals joining our coalition who have an interest in child injury prevention. Please let me know if you would like to join us! Last week to kick off Fire Prevention Month, we held a Fire Safety Chalk Art day that was well attended. We have even been selected for the Safe Kids Worldwide newsletter as a coalition spotlight for this event! This spotlight will be coming out later this month. This coming Saturday, October 9, is National Home Fire Drill Day. We will also be sharing tips on our social media for National Teen Driving Safety Week the week of October 17-23. We will be hosting another Home Alone Safety Class on November 24. We always post our upcoming events for Safe Kids on our website, so be sure to check that out! Columbus Day![]() Southern Tier Health Care System’s office will be closed on Monday in observance of Columbus Day. I hope everyone gets to take some time and relax with their family on this long weekend. After the past 18 months, we all deserve some time to spend with our loved ones! |
ABOUTDonna Kahm has served as President and CEO at STHCS since January 2007. |