Extra! Online, July 1, 2005, Save a life, receive PTO

July 1, 2005

Save a life, receive PTO
UPMC offers new incentive to staff who are frequent blood donors

Donating blood has always been a great way to help others in need. Beginning Friday, July 1, it’s also an excellent opportunity to earn additional paid time off.

Blood donation saves lives.
Consider the facts:

There is no manufactured substitute for blood. Volunteer donors are the only source for blood and blood products.

Every three seconds someone needs blood.

It takes about three gallons of blood to support the entire nation’s blood needs for one minute.

Car accident victims who have suffered massive blood loss can need transfusions of 50 pints or more of red blood cells.

Most people in general good health can safely donate blood every eight weeks (56 days). You must weigh at least 110 pounds and be 17 years old (there is no upper age limit).

Source: Central Blood Bank

Under the UPMC blood donation program through Central Blood Bank (CBB), staff members who register to donate blood on three occasions between July 1, 2005, and June 30, 2006, will receive one PTO day. Staff who donate six times between July 1, 2005, and June 30, 2006, will receive two days of PTO.

The PTO day(s) will be added to your PTO bank after the close of the fiscal year. You must be actively employed by UPMC on June 30, 2006, to earn any PTO under this program.

"Giving blood is a selfless act that saves lives. UPMC has long encouraged physicians and staff members to donate blood,” says Greg Peaslee, senior vice president, Human Resources. “We hope that this incentive of accruing additional PTO will spur more individuals to donate blood on a regular basis.”

UPMC has partnered with Central Blood Bank to offer the PTO incentive. CBB will track staff donations and provide that information to UPMC. CBB conducts blood drives at most UPMC hospitals and other health system facilities. Some UPMC hospitals work with other agencies, such as the American Red Cross, to hold drives.

"In the near future, UPMC will be working with these agencies so that our PTO incentive program is truly a systemwide initiative for all staff,” says Mr. Peaslee.

Building on success
UPMC conducted a successful pilot of the PTO incentive program at several locations. “At each site, there has been a notable increase in the number of voluntary blood donors. The numbers we have seen have convinced us to expand the program systemwide,” says Mr. Peaslee.

Blood drive information is published regularly in Inside Extra! For more information about blood donation, call CBB toll-free at 1-866-DONORS1 (1-866-366-6771).

When you register to donate, you will be required to sign a form authorizing CBB to release all information related to your donations to UPMC.

You may be deferred for donation if you received a tattoo, experienced an accidental needlestick injury, or traveled outside of the United States or Canada in the past 12 months. Deferrals will be reviewed and monitored by CBB. If you have been informed by CBB that you are ineligible to donate blood for at least one year, you should not present to donate. You will not be eligible for the PTO program until your deferral has expired.

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