Blood donations on average for National Blood Donor Month B y J ame s K ing Special to Denton Publications PLATTSBURGH — “[Donating blood] is something that is needed,” said local blood donor Debbie Alphonso. “We all have blood, we all have something we can do to help someone in need.” The North Country Regional Blood Center, operated by CVPH Medical Center, saw an average amount of people donating blood this July, which was National Blood Donation Month. In fact, the center is having a pretty good year so far, said blood bank supervisor Jeanine Yanulavich. “We get close to 700 donors a month and that’s probably where we’re at for July,” Yanulavich said at the end of the month. Even though the center is doing well, their number of donors has been slowly declining over the past few weeks. “The summertime hits us hard … we go to schools and colleges and they’re closed during the summer so that diminishes our population of where we go for blood drives,” Yanulavich stated. “We’ve had a couple of drives that weren’t as successful.” With the number of donations slipping, the blood center is looking for more donors — especially people with Type A and O negative blood. “O negative and A negative are very short in demand, we have a short supply of those,” Yanulavich said.
Not only are the different blood types needed but different forms of donations are needed — full blood donation, the one people typically think of when donating blood, and platelet donations. “Full blood donations are generally, from beginning to end counting paperwork and recovery time, takes about half an hour for everything,” said Yanulavich. “The pheresis donation, the collection of platelets … takes up to two hours usually, it is a long process but it’s very crucial.” The pheresis donation is incredibly important as platelets are needed for oncology and openheart patients. It is also very important to try and donate as much as possible, said Yanulavich. “You can donate red cells [full donation] every eight weeks and you can donate platelets every two weeks,” stated Yanulavich, who added donating blood is free and effective in saving the lives of others. “There are always people out there that need blood. It’s the one thing, in this economy where it’s hard to give money, this is free to give and it really does help,” Yanulavich stated. For more information, including how to donate blood, contact the blood center at 562-7406, Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. James King is a student intern with the Upward Bound program at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.
Lead phlebotomist at the North Country Regional Blood Center Heidi Cormier takes blood from Denton Publications intern Katherine Clark. Photo by James King
Future 4-H facility, respite home receives its first guests By Sar ah L . Cr onk sarah@denpubs.com MOOERS — As a volunteer for Hospice of the North Country, Ken Lushia understands the need for a respite house in the area. With that in mind, Lushia purchased a home on Route 11 from the estate of Leeward and Margaret Monette about a year ago, and hopes to have it up and running soon as the Leeward and Margaret Monette Respite House. “My goal is to have a place where people can drop somebody off and have them taken care of and then pick them back up after whatever they’re going to do,” Lushia explained. The home also has a carriage house, which Lushia plans to utilize as the meeting place for the Tangled Reins 4-H Club, of which his granddaughter is a member. “I’ve purchased enough property to have horses here,” he said. “We’re going to be able to do horseback riding lessons and different things.” Having horses around is something Lushia sees as a benefit for those utilizing the respite house. “Especially people with disabilities, they like the fact that there’s animals around,” he explained. To find out how well the house flows with people in it, Lushia recently welcomed the Lange family to use the home for a reunion
the ‘burgh
and birthday party. Eight of the nine surviving siblings of the Lange family were able to make it to the 90th birthday celebration of their father Norbert Lange. “We haven’t seen each other in two years,” explained daughter Paula Schares, who said the last get together was for her sister Mary Lafleur. The siblings all live across the country, in states such as Missouri, Florida, North Dakota, Indiana and Minnesota. Since Norbert now lives in Plattsburgh with Schares, however, 35 members of the Lange family came out to the North Country to celebrate. Daughter Pat Foster called the area “beautiful” and said some family members used the visit as a chance to climb nearby Lyon Mountain. Others opted to simply hang around the house, she said. “We’ve been able, because of this house, to get into groups and do different things, (like) cards and conversation,” Foster said. “Because this house is such a wonderful facility, it’s just been perfect for a family get together and getting reunited.” Lushia said having the family using the house was “such a thrill.” “Having them here and being a part of this whole thing, it’s been wonderful,” he said. “It’s a test run to see how this all flows, and it really does.”
Members of Norbert Lange’s family stayed at the future home of the Leeward and Margaret Monette Respite House in Mooers in July, in celebration of Lange’s 90th birthday. Pictured are, in back, from left, Katie Schares, Pat Foster, Lavonne Aull, Dewey Lange, Anne MacIntyre, Peg Hanson, and Peter Schares. In front, from left, Tim Schares, Norbert Lange, and Paula Schares.
August 7—13, 2010
Photo by Sarah L. Cronk
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