Two Baldwin County hospitals, along with all six in Mobile County, are teaming up with LifeSouth Community Blood Centers in what they say is an alliance that will strengthen the blood supply along the Alabama coast.

Chandler Bramlett, Infirmary Health System (IHS) president and CEO, said, “This is something we’ve been working on for a number of years. We finally found the right partner to come in with us.”

Under the agreement announced Thursday, June 28, IHS (parent of North Baldwin Infirmary in Bay Minette, Thomas Hospital in Fairhope, Mobile Infirmary in Mobile and Infirmary West in Mobile), USA Hospitals (USA Medical Center, USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital), Providence Hospital and Springhill Medical Center will work with LifeSouth to develop community blood banks in both counties to collect and provide blood to the local medical facilities.

The hospitals will pool around $3 million to help the Gainesville, Fla.-based LifeSouth bring the plan to fruition. The nonprofit blood center expects to begin collecting this fall.

Bramlett said the shift was needed because current suppliers send blood to other states for processing, which means the community depends on the various organizations to return it for use here.

Nancy Eckert, LifeSouth CEO, said that puts southwest Alabama residents in a “precarious situation” because we must rely on others to make sure adequate blood is available when needed.

“We believe this is more effective because giving to a community blood bank is a personal decision. (Local residents) decided to come in that day and donate. They support the community. If you’re hit with a disaster, they’re the ones who are going to respond first.”

Bramlett noted the American Red Cross shut down its blood processing center here and moved it to Birmingham before closing that operation and relocating it to Georgia.

“Most blood the Infirmary gets comes from Wyoming and Montana,” Bramlett said. “We feel there’s a better solution than what we’ve been doing the last few years. With a community blood bank, what is collected in Mobile and Baldwin counties will stay in Mobile and Baldwin counties.”

Right now, around 80 percent of the blood needed here is shipped in from elsewhere by suppliers, including the Red Cross, Mississippi Blood Services, United Blood Services and the Northwest Florida Blood Center.

But, is putting all our eggs all in one basket with LifeSouth such a good idea?

Eckert said it is. She pointed out LifeSouth collected enough blood from 126,000 Alabama donors last year to take care of trauma needs, as well as heart and cancer patients in 60 hospitals.

The organization currently supplies 65 percent of Alabama’s blood needs through blood centers in Alabaster, Albertville, Birmingham, Cullman, Decatur, Dothan, Florence, Huntsville and Montgomery.

“By working together, you’re able to pool your resources and make happen things any one of us alone couldn’t make happen,” said Owen Bailey, IHS vice president. “Any time you get together and share a coordinated effort, patients can benefit.”

Bailey said having a community blood bank such as LifeSouth helps the community to be better prepared for a catastrophe. It also enables faster turnaround time on donations earmarked for a certain person.

“We draw in anticipation of what patients need,” Eckert said. “With Katrina, we were able to supply blood to parts of Mississippi that were depending on New Orleans for blood.”

She said LifeSouth officials believe in taking care of the community’s needs, however, before sharing excess blood with other areas.

Doug Garner, the Thomas Hospital vice president who performed a lot of legwork to help seal the deal with LifeSouth, said, “We’ve been dealing with blood issues for many years now. Like electricity, when you turn a light switch on, it has to be there. We looked everywhere for quality blood. This is a first-class provider for blood products.”

All LifeSouth blood centers are licensed and regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, and each is inspected by state agencies and accreditation organizations.

LifeSouth will create around 60 new jobs, officials say, with an average annual salary of $35,000. It is believed the deal will also translate into a 10 percent savings over what area hospitals are currently paying for blood and blood products.