After having many concerns voiced, Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) implemented new improvements at the most recent blood drive Feb 18. Implementations included new volunteers and supervisors, and overall improvement of care given.  

“After the first blood drive of the year, I met with the blood drive coordinator and her supervisor at the school since I had multiple concerns from that blood drive,”  HOSA sponsor Karalyn Baker said. “I went over all of the concerns with them, and we came together to see how we could improve going forward. They let me know that the blood drive coordinator, her supervisor and the regional coordinator would be at this blood drive to make sure things went smoothly and to address any concerns. HOSA members and the blood drive coordinators also met the morning of the blood drive and went over the protocols and procedures of the day and brought up ideas to make sure things ran smoothly and we could all work together well.”

HOSA members worked closely with Carter Blood Care at this Blood Drive to ensure that the overall quality this time around was greatly improved.

“Instead of being a high school program helping out, we were all a big team dedicated to improving the experience of other students and donors,” HOSA member junior Isabell McGinnis said. “We also did our best to ensure a smooth donation by providing snacks to every student before and after a person donated.”

Students noticed a more organized and professional environment at this blood drive.

“You could tell the people conducting the drive were more experienced,” senior Isis Verduzco. “Because of that, it ran a lot smoother than it usually does. I heard a lot less people complaining about getting stabbed several times in a row, so that’s always a plus.”

Verduzco said that the changes made for this blood drive were much needed, and HOSA’s efforts “really showed through.”

“I’m looking forward to the next blood drive,” she said.