All the staff who work at this location are dedicated and skilled individuates who were a pleasure to work with. I'm a certified Red Cross CPR/AED instructor and the work done by the Red Cross is very important.
So why a two star review?
Because someone high up their chain of command is screwing things up and if something isn't done its going to cost lives.
Their IT has been laughably poor for as long as I've worked with them, and having to call a friend at Red Cross for help just signing up for programs is totally routine because even signing up for a class can be border line impossible without aid (I'm a millennial, we live on the internet, and if I can't figure out how to use your web site you've really screwed up). Last year I and several others completed all the steps for a pillow case project and ended up not attending because none of us, not the instructors or even tech support could figure out how to get the online portal to work properly. No big deal right? So a few kids don't get emergency prep education. Its not like house fires are deadly or anything...
Now though? It's affecting the blood donation system.
I've used VA blood services before to donate blood and the process was straight forward enough: Make an appointment or walk in. They had plenty of time before and after work, so I signed up and did a double red donation. I'm lucky enough to be O negative so they were doubly happy to have me.
Then earlier this year I got a message about how low the blood supply was locally and tried to call them up: No luck. They were completely gone from google maps and their web site said they had been bought out by the Red Cross. Okay, so I called the red cross to setup a donation.
After twenty minutes straight on the phone I learned several things:
The red cross apparently bought out and shut down VA blood services. Their locations were nowhere to be found, and the only places to donate were buses. Not a problem on the surface... until you learn that they only operate from 9 to 5, Monday through Friday. You know, the work week. I happen to (gasp) work during the work week. The poor call center associate was really trying to help, but there just wasn't anything to be found on the weekends at all. It would be weeks before they could setup anything even in the same zip code around 4 or 5 PM.
Okay, so I made plans to attend the drive in a few weeks and donate then. Good right?
No good. The buss never showed up. When I called to ask WTF no one had any record of the event ever being there in the first place. No prospects to donate now either. Great, so I cut work for this?
Another week or two went by and I got an email and snail mail document saying an appointment had been setup at a buss twenty minutes away on a Monday at 5 PM and could I please confirm? Hell yes I could confirm! Competence! Maybe that last time an adoration?
Well today was the day of the drive and I had again made arrangements to leave work early so I could do a double red donation.
Then I get an email around noon saying that the double red wouldn't be available and please still come. Okay? I mean, you do you Red Cross, but I'm not going to be the reason you fail to get blood today.
The time rolls around and I drive out to the location only to find... No Buss. Again. I circled the parking lot and found nothing. Okay? Maybe they're inside the air conditioned fitness center?
Nope. Turns out the buss had problems with its AC and they packed up and left. Then my phone dings: "Blood drive canceled for today".
Really?
If this was just an inconvenience for me it wouldn't really matter, I'm nobody important, but if am the Average experience here then we have a problem. I think I know a big part of WHY there's a blood shortage.
Red Cross, if anyone from your agency with the power to change things is reading this, here are a few suggestions:
1: People work during the work week. You need availability outside of this 40 hour window.
2: You don't have to do this all on your own: There are a variety of places that provide medical care in the US including hospitals, dialysis centers, urgent care offices, etc, and all have staff trained to draw blood. Most also satisfy criteria one above. I bet some might even be willing to offer perks to those who donated.
3: Donation isn't just a charitable thing to do, if you work out, donating blood means workouts get easier for a few weeks after because it takes less work to stress your heart and lungs. This means a slower run or bike ride nets you the same gains that would normally take a lot more work. I've never seen this benefit lauded in any ads.
I really hope some effort is put forth to fixing these issues, because hospitals can't work without blood and if we keep going like this it's going to cost lives. read more