Jun 28, 2018 Prevent Summer Blood Shortages: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Blood Services Urges Individuals to Donate Blood

Dr. Josh Bershad

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President Dr. Josh Bershad donates blood at the 2018 Tackle Sickle Cell blood drive with his son by his side. RWJUH Blood Services is urging individuals to donate blood to prevent summer blood shortages.

(New Brunswick) - Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Blood Services is urging volunteer donors to give blood to help ensure that patient needs are met during the summer months, when the supply of blood products runs low.

“Each summer, as school ends and vacations begin, we see a decline in blood donations,” notes Sally Wells, Business Development Liaison for RWJUH Blood Services. “In some years, blood supplies have dropped to crisis levels. We want to avoid that problem and encourage individuals to donate blood now.”

There will be a special Summer Holiday Week Blood Drive on Monday, July 2 from 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. in RWJUH’s Courtyard. To make an appointment, visit rwjuhdonorclub.org or call 732-235-8100, ext. 248 or 221. Please bring a photo ID and remember to eat prior to donating. Can't make the blood drive? Appointments are also available in Blood Services' Donor Room, Clinical Academic Building, 4th Floor. Call Blood Donor Services at 732-235-8100, ext. 221 or 248, or visit rwjuhdonorclub.org to schedule an appointment. Please bring a photo ID and eat before donating.

RWJUH’s Emergency Department and Level I Trauma Center treat in excess of 95,000 patients each year. Accidents and medical emergencies don’t take a summer break – patients need blood every minute, every day.

To learn more about RWJUH, please visit www.rwjbh.org/newbrunswick. For a referral to a physician affiliated with RWJUH, please call 1-888-MD-RWJUH. Follow us on Twitter at www.rwjuh.edu/twitter and Facebook at www.rwjuh.edu/facebook.

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), an RWJBarnabas Health Facility, is a 600-bed academic medical center that serves as the principal teaching hospital of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, stroke care, neuroscience, orthopedics, bariatric surgery and women’s and children’s care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org). A Level 1 Trauma Center and the first designated Pediatric Trauma Center in the state, RWJUH’s New Brunswick campus serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness.

RWJUH has been ranked among the best hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report seven times and has been selected by the publication as a high performing hospital in numerous specialties. The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital has been ranked among the best hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report five times. In addition, RWJUH was named among the best places to work in health care by Modern Healthcare magazine and received the Equity Care of Award as Top Hospital for Healthcare Diversity and Inclusion from the American Hospital Association. RWJUH Brunswick has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety, including the prestigious Magnet® Award for Nursing Excellence and “Most Wired” designation by Hospitals and Health Networks Magazine. The American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer has rated RWJUH among the nation’s best comprehensive cancer centers. For more Information visit us online at www.rwjbh.org/newbrunswick.

Contact:
Peter Haigney
RWJUH Public Relations
(732) 937-8568 or cell (908) 227-9317