FORT HOOD, Texas (ASBP, February 23, 2011) - 2011 began as one of change for the personnel at the Robertson Blood Center, Fort Hood, Texas. On Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011, the state-of-the-art blood donor center held a short ceremony to hail incoming personnel and give a heartfelt farewell to the outgoing ones.
In 2010, the Armed Services Blood Program designated the Robertson Blood Center as the Army's Center of Excellence for Apheresis Training. The large testing protocols formerly housed there were shut down and the center was reconfigured to offer apheresis collection rooms. Equipment was installed to create a new hub for the Army's Frozen Blood Program, and it wasn't long before the donors started rolling up their sleeves in the new facility.
Unfortunately, the year began on a tragic note when a valued and longtime team member, Janet Roberts, receptionist at the Robertson Blood Center and Armed Services Blood Program employee for 15 years, passed away. It was a serious blow to her co-workers and to the young soldiers at the donor center who knew her as a friend and mentor. The mission of the Army is relentless however, and the staff proved to be as well.
The regular interchange of soldiers between assignments and promotions saw the departure of skilled non-commissioned officers, like Staff Sgt. Marcus Menchaca and Sgt. Kevin Simmons.
However, the Robertson Blood Center team also welcomed in experienced non-commissioned officer-in-charge, Sgt. 1st Class Darin Houfek, a former unit blood coordinator at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington. Houfek's last assignment was at the Tripler Army Medical Laboratory in Hawaii. He brings a fresh perspective and years of practical experience to the donor center.
The top leadership change at the donor center is that of the director, Lt. Col. Dennis Dombrowski-one of the longest serving directors in the history of the center. Dombrowski took over in 2009 and led the center as it shut down testing laboratory and reconfigured for the new missions. This year though, he passed the reins of the blood donor center to incoming director Maj. Teresa Terry.
"Here at the Robertson Blood Center you have a great group of dedicated personnel who accomplish the mission every day. I am extremely proud to have been here and to be a part of that legacy," said Dombrowski.
Terry is a career laboratory officer and completed the Specialist in Blood Banking Fellowship program. Her most recent assignment was as the commander of the 932nd Blood Detachment and included a year's tour to Iraq.
"I am extremely excited to take over here after leading the blood detachment," said Terry. "[The 932nd Blood Detachment and those great soldiers gave me a lot of good ideas for training troops and units on blood support operations."
Terry is the 13th director of the Robertson Blood Center, joining a class that includes retired Col. Anthony Polk, who is the first person awarded the Armed Services Blood Program Lifetime Achievement Award, and Col. Francisco Rentas, current director of the Armed Services Blood Program.
With the Army's Center of Excellence designation and the new apheresis training center, blood detachments from across the Army will begin to send their troops to Fort Hood for training before their deployments. They will learn procedures to be used while deployed to ensure that the military has the blood supplies they need and that those supplies are the safest in the world. Units will train on tasks that include identifying a walking blood bank, emergency blood drives, and the shipment of blood supplies within theater.
Terry's enthusiasm to join the team was contagious as the blood donor center staff eagerly greeted their new leader and sent all their very best wishes to the outgoing director.
"This will be a whole new challenge for me," said Terry. "We will all be working hard to develop and teach new training plans. This donor center has a great reputation and I am sure that we will all be up to the challenge."
To find out more about the Armed Services Blood Program or to make an appointment, please visit us online: www.militaryblood.dod.mil. To interact directly with some of our staff or to get the latest news, visit us here: www.facebook.com/militaryblood.
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