LOUISVILLE, Tenn. -- The Medic Regional Blood Center recently recognized the Chief Master Sergeant Paul H. Lankford Enlisted Professional Military Education Center in East Tennessee for considerable blood donation.
Lankford EPME Center received the 2016 Silver Supporter award for blood drives that contributed between 300-500 units of blood.
“I am continually impressed with the spirit of volunteerism and desire by our EPME students and staff to contribute to our community,” said Chief Master Sgt. Edward Walden, Lankford EPME Center commandant, in an email. “The blood drive effort is just another great example of the impact the Lankford EPME Center has on the community.”
The EPME center educates thousands annually for U.S. Air Force Airman leadership school and NCO academy, and its students’ donations made up the majority of those blood units, which rank in the top 10 percent of community donators for 24 hospitals and 21 counties.
Lankford EPME Center holds about seven to eight blood drives a year, with each drive collecting about 50 donated units of blood, on average. The steady flow of students and its open space inside the Wilson Hall activities building make it ideal for blood drives, said Tech. Sgt. Aaron Brentwood, an EPME instructor. He is one of several staff who organize community outreach.
Brentwood said that it is not easy to find community locations able to host blood drives. “For us to be able to host it seven to eight times a year, that’s a big thing,” said Brentwood.
“There is a blood problem, as far as there is always a shortage,” said Brentwood. “So it goes to imparting that citizen-Airman type of concept - giving back to your community.”