Pioneers … innovators … leaders, these words describe the medical professionals who introduced Patient Blood Management (PBM) to Yavapai Regional Medical Center (YRMC) as well as to healthcare organizations throughout the world.
Why is PBM important to our community? First, YRMC sponsors Arizona’s only PBM program. Its goal is to prevent unnecessary blood transfusions by applying scientific and safe medical-surgical techniques. These techniques decrease bleeding, prevent anemia and speed recovery for patients.
PBM Experts Gather
PBM proponents from YRMC and organizations around the globe gathered recently for the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management (SABM) Annual Conference. SABM is a growing, international society dedicated to improving patient health through blood management. SABM’s Annual Conference focused on how PBM programs are improving patient outcomes by taking steps that reduce exposure to the risks associated with blood transfusions.
YRMC Leads in PBM
I was proud that my YRMC colleague, Jared Head, AGACNP-BC, Hospitalist, presented an excellent example of this to SABM Annual Conference attendees. He spoke about harnessing a substance produced by the kidneys to promote the production of red blood cells. This substance is preventing blood transfusions in YRMC’s open heart surgery patients. YRMC is also part of SABM’s leadership. Pierre Tibi, MD – Medical Director of YRMC’s James Family Heart Center and the hospital’s PBM Program – serves as the President of SABM.
Additionally, during the SABM Annual Conference, I took the SABM certification exam. This one-day course and exam gave me the information and tools needed for best practices in the field of PBM. It reinforced for me that PBM improves patient outcomes and shortens the amount of time people spend in the hospital.
YRMC Puts PBM into Practice
Here are a few ways YRMC’s PBM program helps patients by reducing unnecessary transfusions:
- Administering iron therapy as well as Vitamins B6, B12, K and Folic Acid to people in outpatient settings.
- Using blood-conserving techniques and medications to promote healthy clotting before and during surgery.
- Decreasing patient blood loss through fewer blood draws and taking smaller amounts of blood during draws.
I’m proud that YRMC is a Hospital Affiliate of SABM. I’m even prouder that as PBM pioneers, we are offering our patients the latest and best medical care.
To learn more about PBM, email Dale Black, YRMC’s Patient Blood Management Program Coordinator.
By Selina Bliss, RN, RN-BC
Yavapai Regional Medical Center
Professional Development Council
Patient Blood Management Program
and President of the Arizona Nurses Association