September 12, 2007

 

American Red Cross Selects University Park To Locate Blood Manufacturing And Testing Facility 
 

SIUE NEWS
 

The American Red Cross is proud to announce it has selected a site for the building of a brand new, state-of-the art, centralized blood manufacturing and testing facility. The Missouri-Illinois Blood Services Region, along with the National Testing Lab (NTL), will move from its current location at 4050 Lindell Boulevard in St. Louis to a new location in University Park, on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus. The Missouri-Illinois Blood Region is part of the South Central Division, which will also be headquartered at this new site.
 

The Red Cross will build a 170,000 square foot facility on a 15-acre site with a targeted completion date of November/December 2009. This project will help create more than 500 new jobs within University Park. The new design utilizes technological advancements in equipment and overall layout for a state-of-the-art manufacturing area.
 

"We welcome American Red Cross employees and families to our campus and to our community," said SIUE Chancellor Vaughn Vandegrift. "In its 50-year history, SIUE has played a key role in the economic and educational development of Southwestern Illinois. We are fortunate to have had the assistance of great partners who are committed to community engagement and growth in attracting the Red Cross to SIUE. This new project in University Park means jobs, not just for the American Red Cross, but for the surrounding communities resulting from both direct and indirect expenditures related to the construction project and ongoing operations of this exciting enterprise."
 

The City of St. Louis has been home to Blood Services for more than 50 years. "Our anticipated move from the city brings a note of sadness to today's announcement," said David A. Chumley, Chief Executive Officer of the Missouri-Illinois Blood Region. "While Blood Services will not be headquartered within the city of St. Louis directly, we will continue to provide the same quality products and services that we have been providing here for over half a century."
 

The new Red Cross center will process blood from donors throughout the Midwest and Southwest and then distribute the blood components back to hospitals and transfusion centers in those states. Improved design and advanced technology in the new facility will enable the Red Cross to have its blood donations processed, tested and out to hospitals more quickly.

"The need for more room to incorporate technological advances was a major factor in the decision to build a new facility," adds Chumley.

"We are thrilled to welcome the American Red Cross to Illinois as they continue to advance their important work while taking advantage of the region's strong business climate, strategic location, exceptional infrastructure and highly skilled workforce. We have been working together with the Red Cross and will continue to have discussions about the ways we can offer our assistance as this important project moves forward," said Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich.
 

In a national study conducted six years ago, the Red Cross learned that many of its blood-processing facilities around the country needed major renovations in order to continue to meet the highest blood safety standards and to assure blood availability to hospitals. The current Red Cross facility on Lindell Boulevard is more than 50 years old, has an aging infrastructure and is not set up for large-scale manufacturing. The SIUE campus provides the ideal location for the Red Cross to build its new facility, which will enable the organization to better position itself to meet the ongoing needs of the patients it serves. As a result of this study, the Red Cross has embarked on a National Strategic Program making this new facility at SIUE the fourth of its kind since the national study was conducted.
 

In 2006, a team of individuals from the Region, NTL, South Central Division and National Headquarters began reviewing numerous proposals for potential locations in Missouri and Illinois for this new site. The search area was limited to the Greater St Louis metro area. The final location selected came from 20 original sites that met the criteria. The SIUE site offers a strategic location with a strong business climate, a highly skilled workforce and the potential for exceptional infrastructure.
 

The design of this new facility allows for the consolidation of many Regional activities and services. The SIUE site will create a cost-effective model for manufacturing practices, allowing other Blood Regions serviced by the St. Louis NTL to send their products to this location for production and manufacturing. This project will help the Red Cross meet the increasing demand for blood products and services now and into the future.