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Background
Florida Blood Services (FBS) has instructed many of the students in grades K-12 about blood in Hillsborough and Pinellas
Counties for almost 20 years. MORE HEALTH has taught students about various health topics in grades K-12 in Hillsborough
County for over 10 years and has expanded into Pinellas County. This year Florida Blood Services will be partnering with
MORE HEALTH to bring the message about blood and blood donation to even more students.
Project Description
For the 2003-4 School Year, Florida Blood Services will share in the sponsorship and development of two programs offered
in Hillsborough County and one in Pinellas County. The programs in Hillsborough are entitled "HEART ‘Walk-Through Heart’"
for Grade 4 students, and "Live Life, Give Life", organ education, for Grades 9 through 12. In Pinellas, the program is
the "Heart ‘Walk-Through Heart’" for Grade 5. In the heart programs, students learn about their heart and the importance
of blood pumped through their bodies by the heart. In the organ education program, students learn about the various organs
in the body, their functions and value to life and the importance of blood to the efficient working of those organs.
While many of these students are too young to give blood themselves, they can explain the concepts they have learned to
their parents, friends, and relatives and can encourage those 17 years of age and older to donate blood. They will have
the opportunity to become "Student Life Savers" and to earn a "Student Life Saver" certificate along with a Blood Buddy
character by convincing an adult to donate blood.
Objectives/Outcomes
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To help students feel integrally involved at an early age with the community blood donation process.
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To help reinforce the students’ learning about blood by encouraging them to teach their parents and/or other adults what they have learned.
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To recruit new blood donors, now and in the next generation.
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To add to the community’s blood supply.
Benefits
The patients (in the 36 hospitals and approximately 80 ambulatory healthcare facilities served by Florida Blood Services)
will benefit from an increased blood supply in the area. Finally, the communities will benefit through the immediate addition
of new blood donors, as well as through the commitment of students, who will hopefully become lifetime blood donors.
Results Will Be Disseminated
The project results will be reported by MORE HEALTH and distributed to appropriate audiences including sponsors and community
leaders in the health and education field. In addition, assuming the project is successful, we will seek to publicize the
positive outcomes through local media outlets and to write an article for publication in one of the journals common to
blood banking.
Timetable and Costs
The MORE HEALTH sponsorship cost, development of a new and complete educational unit for Hillsborough and Pinellas
specifically on blood and blood donations along with materials provided by Florida Blood Services for the 2003-4 School
Year is $58,000. A breakdown follows:
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MORE HEALTH sponsorship and course development
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$35,000
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1,000 Teacher guides @ $4 each
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$4,000
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1,000 Posters for schools and classrooms @ $2 each
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$2,000
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15,000 Flyers to support recruiting effort
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$1,500
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5,000 Student Lifesaver Certificates
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$2,500
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5,000 Blood Buddy characters @ $2.20 each
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$11,000
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20,000 General blood info flyers @ 10 cents each
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$2,000
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Total for 2003-4 School Year
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$58,000
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Qualifications
Florida Blood Services is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) healthcare provider serving the greater Tampa Bay area. Founded in
1993, Florida Blood Services originated from the merger of the area’s three largest blood centers: Community Regional
Blood Center in St. Petersburg, Hunter Blood Center in Clearwater, and Southwest Florida Blood Bank in Tampa. These
founding centers have served the community for 50 or more years.
Florida Blood Services collects over 750 pints of blood a day at 14 branch facilities, 26 bloodmobiles, and 4 portable
bed units. Its Regional Compatibility Testing Laboratories make it the fourth largest transfusion service in the United
States. In addition, FBS is affiliated with the University of South Florida. For years, Florida Blood Services has had an
educational outreach program into area schools, colleges, and universities. The FBS Transfusion Medicine Academic Center
(TMAC) offers post-graduate transfusion medicine fellowships, training program for pathology residents, and specialist in
blood banking programs.
The principal Florida Blood Services personnel working with MORE HEALTH in implementing the project bring years of expertise
to this undertaking. Valerie Werner, Director, FBS Education, Training, & Volunteers, is a Registered Nurse, who has a Master
of Education degree and previous teaching experience in the public schools. Nancy Unrue, FBS Education Coordinator, has 20
years of blood banking experience, with 17 of those years spent in the Education Department, lecturing to public school students
about blood donation.
Since 1993, MORE HEALTH has functioned effectively as an educational outreach program, teaching exciting interactive health
education and injury prevention lessons in the schools. MORE HEALTH currently consists of 15 nurses and teachers who travel
to area classrooms upon request of the teachers. In 2001-2 they presented their programs to 1,075 schools, 4,798 classes, and
127,001 students. (See the MORE HEALTH brochure for the 2002-3 School Year.) MORE HEALTH is led by their Executive Director,
Karen Pesce, R.N, and the Director of the Pinellas program is Sara Simmons.
Funding for Florida Blood Services’ involvement with MORE HEALTH is provided through Florida Blood Services Foundation, Inc.,
a 501(c)(3) organization providing philanthropic support for Florida Blood Services.
FBS Foundation is the management trustee of the endowments, trusts, grants and special funds donated to Florida Blood Services.
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