AMARILLO, Texas/ OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (Jan. 26, 2011) – Coffee Memorial Blood Center of Amarillo, Texas and Oklahoma Blood Institute of Oklahoma City, OK have joined four other Texas independent blood centers in the Alliance for Community Transfusion Services (ACTS). ACTS’s original members announced the alliance formation in December 2010, along with their intentions to collaborate in their approach to strengthening relationships between community blood programs and local hospitals. The Blood and Tissue Center of Central Texas, Carter BloodCare, Coastal Bend Blood Center and The South Texas Blood and Tissue Center made it known that other like-minded independent blood centers were welcome to join. “We are looking forward to working with the strong, community spirited blood centers in the Alliance to improve our operations and efficiency,” said John Armitage, M.D., president and CEO of Oklahoma Blood Institute. “We are confident that joining ACTS will improve our resilience in facing the intensifying challenges in our industry.”

The Alliance’s philosophy is that excellent service to local hospitals must be cost-effective in today’s climate of dynamic change in the health care industry. The industry’s push toward increased access-to-care while reducing costs means that community blood centers must be nimble and efficient in services offered.  “As a relatively small blood center operating in a large, rural area, Coffee Memorial embraces membership in ACTS. The value of independence and the relevance of community based decision-making are driving forces in our daily activities,” said James T. Rutledge, Ph.D., president and CEO of Coffee Memorial Blood Center.

ACTS-member blood programs believe their collective knowledge gained and industry relationships formed, while serving community donors and hospitals for the last five decades, means they are well-positioned to produce best practices for the group. The emphases are efficiency, quality, cost-containment, and consistency of supply without sacrificing local customer service. The six-member alliance now has a combined volume of approximately 970,000 annual blood collections and 3,780 employees to leverage greater economies-of-scale for the benefit of their respective communities.

                                                                              # # #