Life South Luncheon

The Cedar Key News staff was invited to join other local media representatives for a luncheon last Friday at LifeSouth headquarters at 4039 Newberry Road in Gainesville.

LifeSouth communities are in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. The organization gathers blood from donors and safely transports the blood to many people in the TriState area.

The purpose of the luncheon was to thank the newspapers, television stations, and web or online papers who help promote the donation of blood for ongoing needs.

For this, Cedar Key News was awarded a 2012 Community Partner plaque. LifeSouth personnel also highlighted many activities, races, and events which are organized to coincide with University of Florida, Gainesville athletic activities.

Guest speaker was Staccie Allen, ShandsCAir Program Director, who presented an program about the helicopter which transports people to the hospital at Shands, or from Shands to other critical care facilities.

Staccie talked about how each team is assembled according to the needs of the patient. The necessity for rapid intervention in a rural area was not lost on her audience.

LifeSouth wishes to recognize ongoing efforts of increasing awareness in order to maintain a safe, adequate blood supply for patients in our community hospitals.