Puget Sound Blood Center (PSBC) and Auburn Regional Medical Center have partnered to implement an innovative Remote Allocation system that allows hospitals to quickly and securely access blood components at point of use.

The introduction of the new system was made possible through a generous grant from the Employees Community Fund of Boeing Puget Sound (ECF).

The system includes an automated dispensing refrigerator located in the hospital – the HemoSafe – controlled by sophisticated inventory management software, BloodTrack.

“With the Remote Allocation we are fundamentally changing the way we help our hospital partners serve their patients,” said Dr. James P. AuBuchon, president and CEO of PSBC. “At the hospital, the HemoSafe is stocked with an inventory of red blood cells so that when a patient requires a transfusion, their blood is electronically cross-matched with blood components already available in the hospital’s HemoSafe.”

“Auburn Regional Medical Center has worked closely with PSBC for nearly a year to implement the Remote Allocation system,” said ARMC CEO Robert Dickens. “The HemoSafe-based system gives us immediate and easy access to blood components needed in emergencies and for inpatient and outpatient care. In the initial 18 days of use, HemoSafe has reduced the wait time for blood a combined total of 77 hours for 53 patients.”

“This has truly been a collaborative effort between with Auburn Regional Medical Center and PSBC, enabled by the Employees Community Fund of Boeing Puget Sound,” AuBuchon noted. “It demonstrates the patient and community benefits that come through strong partnerships.”

PSBC now has Remote Allocation in place at eight hospitals in the Puget Sound region.