T’was The Pint Before Christmas

MEDIC Regional Blood Center is excited to host the second annual T’was The Pint Before Christmas’along with Ober Gatlinburg and HOT 104.5 to provide a special treat to blood donors. This years event will be a two-day event on December 21st and 22nd.  The holiday season is a historically difficult time for MEDIC, as blood donors are typically on vacation and extra busy with Holiday preparations. This partnership will hopefully bring in extra donors to help supply life-saving blood to the 28 area hospitals that MEDIC serves in East Tennessee. On December 21st and 22nd, each blood donor will receive a free ticket to Ober Gatlinburg for an evening of skiing or snowboarding, along with an exclusive free t-shirt and a free Texas Roadhouse Appetizer coupon. Donors who would like to participate, can donate at any of the locations listed below. Friday, December 21st: Bass Pro Shop 11am – 6pm Blount Memorial Hospital 12pm – 6pm Home Federal Bank- Oak Ridge 11am – 5pm Home Federal Bank- Powell 11am – 5pm Lowe’s – Greeneville 12pm – 6pm UT Medical Center 7am – 3pm MEDIC Knoxville 8am – 6:30pm MEDIC Farragut 6:30am – 6pm MEDIC Crossville 8:30am-5pm MEDIC Athens 8:30am-5pm   Saturday, December 22nd: Big Lots – Jefferson City 12pm-6pm Family Dollar – Seymour 12pm-6pm Hammer’s- Halls 12pm-6pm Walgreen’s- Newport 12pm-6pm Walmart- Maryville 11am-6pm MEDIC Knoxville 8am

MEDIC Regional Blood Center is excited to once again partner with East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. For the entire month of December, blood donors are invited to skip the free t-shirt that they are normally given after donating life-saving blood and in-turn, MEDIC will donate the cost of the shirt to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. ETCH is a 152-bed hospital that provides high quality pediatric care in East Tennessee, and has been a part of the community for over 75 years.

31st Battle of the Orange and Blue Kicks Off November 12th

Break The Streak!

This year’s event is from Monday, November 12th to Friday, November 16th. Fans of the Tennessee Volunteers and the Kentucky Wildcats compete all week to see who can donate the most lifesaving blood. Kentucky has won the past several years. We need everyone’s help to break the streak. Scheduling changes now mean the Kentucky game is now the week before the competition. In recent years, this has meant a decline in blood donations. At its peak, the competition was responsible for over 6,500 blood donations; most recently, only 4,600 donors participated. However, we have faith this year will be the year! All Donors will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card, Free Long Sleeve T-Shirt, a Free small pizza from Papa John’s, a Free ticket to the Fantasy of Trees, and a Free Texas Roadhouse Appetizer!   11/12 Food City Asheville Highway Greeneville 10am-6pm Laughlin Memorial Hospital 10am-6pm Methodist Medical Center 11am-6pm Walmart Oneida 9am-5pm MEDIC Knoxville Donor Center 8am – 6:30pm MEDIC Farragut Don

MEDIC Regional Blood Center has made it more convenient for Athens residents to donate blood and save lives with the opening of a center at 213 E. Washington Ave. Dozens of city leaders and medical representatives gathered for the official the grand opening ceremony on October 8th. “We think this is a great opportunity for our organization. We are looking forward to continuing the great relationship with this community,” said Jim Decker, CEO. MEDIC has been providing life-saving blood products to Starr Regional Medical Center in Athens and Etowah for over 30 years. The center opened on October 9th: Tuesday thru Friday 8:30 am -5 pm and the first Saturday of every month 8 am – 12 pm. For more information about hours and scheduling, please call 865-524-3074.

While the Tennessee Volunteers are preparing to take on the Florida Gators on September 22nd, the competition among fans of both teams is already heating up. Beginning Monday, September 10th, blood donors in Knoxville and Gainesville will be competing to see who can collect the most blood to help their community blood centers. The VOLS have been winning this blood competition each year since 2009! This year, MEDIC is hoping to win on and off the field. To do that, hundreds of donors will need to roll up their sleeves and donate blood at one of our community blood drives. Donors will also receive a Vols T-Shirt, Free Small One-Topping Pizza from Papa John’s, A Free Petro from Petro’s, and a Free Appetizer from Texas Roadhouse! 9/10/18: Food City Greeneville Asheville Highway 10am-6pm Laughlin Memorial Hospital 10am-6pm 9/11/18: Food City- Tazewell 11am-7pm Rural King- Sweetwater 11am-7pm Walmart- Jefferson City 11am-6pm 9/12/18: Pellissippi State Community College Hardin Valley Campus 8:30am – 4pm Walmart – Sevierville 10am – 6pm 9/13/18: Books-A-Million Oak Ridge 10am – 6pm Lowe’s Harriman 10am – 6pm Provision Center for Proton Therapy 8am – 5pm Walmart- Lenoir City 10am-6pm Walmart Oneida 10am – 6pm 9/14/18: Lowe’s- Alcoa 10am-6pm Provision Center for Proton Therapy 7:30am – 4:30pm Walmart – Athens 10am – 6pm Walmart – East Morristown 10am – 6pm Walmart –

MEDIC is once again partnering with the Tennessee Valley Fair. Anyone who donates lifesaving blood September 4th-7th will receive a ticket for free admission to this year’s fair. Below is a list of locations: Tuesday, September 4th: MEDIC Knoxville Donor Center 8am – 6:30pm MEDIC Farragut Donor Center 7:30am – 7pm MEDIC Crossville Donor Center 12pm – 6pm (CDT) Town of Greeneville Public Works 7:30am-11am Maryville College 8am-4pm Ingles-Karns 10am-6pm Food City- Dandridge 11am-6pm Food City- Maynardville 11am-6pm Ingles-Powell 12pm-7pm Laughlin Healthcare Center 12:30pm-3:30pm Wednesday, September 5th: MEDIC Knoxville Donor Center 8am – 6:30pm MEDIC Farragut Donor Center 6:30am – 6pm MEDIC Crossville Donor Center 8am – 4pm (CDT) First Tennessee Plaza 9am-4pm South Greene High School 9am-4pm Jefferson Memorial Hospital 10am-5:30pm St. Patrick’s Catholic Church 11am-6pm Dotson Memorial Baptist Church 1pm-8pm Fellowship Baptist Church 1pm-7pm Thursday, September 6th: MEDIC Knoxville Donor Center 8am – 6:30pm MEDIC Farragut Donor Center 7:30am – 7pm MEDIC Crosssville Donor Center 12pm – 6pm (CDT) Home Federal Bank- Union Ave 8am-3pm Newport Federal Bank- 9am-4pm Home Federal Bank- Magnolia Ave. 12:30pm-4pm Smoky Mountain Knife Works 12pm-6pm UT Medical Center 12pm-6pm Friday, September 7th: MEDIC Knoxville Donor Center 8am – 6:30pm MEDIC Farragut Donor Cente

Two blood centers serving a majority of East Tennessee hospitals will be teaming up to save lives. MEDIC Regional Blood Center based in Knoxville, and Blood Assurance, based in Chattanooga, will be working with the Tennessee Smokies and the Chattanooga Lookouts on a baseball themed competition each hopes will be a home run. On Thursday, July 19th, anyone who donates at any MEDIC blood drive will receive a free ticket to any regular season home game to see the Tennessee Smokies. In Chattanooga, similar blood drives will be held with donors receiving tickets to see the Chattanooga Lookouts. “MEDIC and Blood Assurance have been trying to find ways to work more closely, and we think this is a great way to bring our donors together for a friendly competition,” says MEDIC CEO Jim Decker. “At the end of the day, it’s about making sure the hospitals in our area have the tools they need to save lives.” In addition to a free game ticket, all donors will also receive a special t-shirt. In the Knoxville area served by MEDIC, donors can give at one of the following locations: MEDIC Downtown Donor Center, 8am-6:30pm MEDIC Farragut Donor Center, 7:30am-7pm ORNL on Northshore Drive, 8am-2:30pm Home Federal Bank Straw Plains, 9am-4pm Sevierville Post Office, 9am-4pm Walmart Newport, 11am-6pm Five Below in Maryville, 11am-6pm First Baptist Church Dandridge, 11am-5pm Walmart Jefferson C

Zoo Knoxville and MEDIC Regional Blood Center are teaming up to gather lifesaving blood and help support the zoo’s mission all month. Normally, donors would receive a free t-shirt after their donation. This month, though, MEDIC is letting people choose to opt out of the free t-shirt and donate the cost of it directly to the zoo to support programs like the Tiger Forest. Last year, the partnership boosted blood donations and raised nearly $4,000 for the zoo. MEDIC said these events are helpful because it’s typically more difficult for them to collect blood for local hospital in July and summer months. For more information on eligibility visit: https://medicblood.org/eligibility/ For a list of locations visit: https://medicblood.org/donate/

MEDIC Regional Blood Center is working with two East Tennessee families whose children were hospitalized after being infected with E. coli. In June, several children were treated at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital for E. coli. At least three of those patients received lifesaving blood products as part of their treatment. Now, the community is being asked to donate blood on behalf of the children in order to help with the medical expenses related to their transfusions. Temple Baptist Church at 1700 W. Beaver Creek Road in Powell is hosting a blood drive on Tuesday, July 10th for William Zenker. The drive will be in the church gym from 12pm-7pm. A separate blood drive will be held on Sunday, July 29th at All Saints Catholic Church, 620 North Cedar Bluff Road, from 10am-5pm. This drive will help support Anthony and Genevieve Schiding. The community is invited to donate at these drives for the benefit of the respective families. All blood types are needed. Donors do not have to donate at these specific blood drives. Anyone wishing to help can donate blood at any MEDIC blood drive for the next several months. A donor simply needs to indicate at the time of donation they are giving on behalf of the Zenker or Schiding family. All three children became sick after reportedly drinking raw milk, but each family has recently provided positive reports of continued improvement in the he

Pint for a Pint is Back: Free Ice Cream for All Donors MEDIC Regional Blood Center is once again teaming up with Bruster’s Ice Cream to save lives in East Tennessee. Everyone who donates blood at a MEDIC blood drive on Wednesday, June 27th or Thursday, June 28th will receive a coupon for a free pint of Bruster’s Ice Cream. Bruster’s has been a crucial community partner of MEDIC’s for several years. Each year, this promotion comes the week before the Independence Day holiday. Most blood centers across the country typically see a decline in donations leading up to the 4th of July and other major holidays. This event helps ensure MEDIC will have the blood it needs to supply its 28 East Tennessee-area hospitals. Donors can give at any of the following locations: Wednesday June 27th MEDIC Downtown Donor Center, 1601 Ailor Avenue, 8:30am-6:30pm MEDIC Farragut Donor Center, 11000 Kingston Pike, 6:30am-6:00pm MEDIC Crossville, 79 S. Main Street, 8am-4pm (CDT) Bruster’s Ice Cream, 906 E. Emory Road, 11am-7:00pm Bruster’s Ice Cream, 1043 Old Cedar Bluff Road, 11am-7:00pm Bruster’s Ice Cream, 7670 S. Northshore Drive, 11am-7:00pm Bruster’s Ice Cream in Maryville, 1400 W Broadway Ave., 11am-7:00pm Thursday, June 28th MEDIC Downtown Donor Center, 1601 Ailor Avenue, 8:30am-6:30pm MEDIC Farragut Donor Center, 11000 Kingston Pike, 7:30am-7:00pm MEDIC Crossville, 79 S. Main Stre