LifeStream will honor Desert Oasis Healthcare at its 2019 Gift of Life Tribute: 10-Gallon Donor Celebration on Sunday, April 7 in Riverside. There will be more than 1,000 attendees, including 100+ 50-gallon donors and 20 100-gallon donors!
“We’re very excited to honor Desert Oasis Healthcare with this prestigious award,” said Dr. Rick Axelrod, LifeStream’s president and CEO. “Together we have created an extraordinary outpatient transfusion service program in multiple locations across the Coachella Valley that serves as a model for other facilities to emulate.”
Recognizing time as one of their patients’ most valuable resources, DOHC developed an outpatient transfusion clinic that could significantly reduce “time in the chair” by as much as four hours. “Outpatient transfusion saves patients from being admitted to the hospital for a blood transfusion,” said Dr. Marc Hoffing, Medical Director of Desert Oasis Healthcare. “This provides a more comfortable environment for the patient while saving them time. But it also conserves hospital resources and is safer for the patient.”
Starting with a single transfusion clinic in Palm Springs in 2012, DOHC has since opened two other transfusion clinics, strategically located in Palm Desert and Yucca Valley. Today, these three DOHC transfusion clinics provide services for those with acute but stable conditions, such as gastrointestinal bleeds. DOHC also specializes in “infusion naïve” patients and now offers platelets for those who need even greater services. Beginning with 25 transfusions in 2012, outpatient transfusions reached 380 in 2018.
“We’re honored to receive this award from LifeStream because we so deeply appreciate the wonderful work they do in helping to assure a safe and plentiful blood supply,” Dr. Hoffing continued. “I know that DOHC employees share my feeling because we’ve been doing blood drives with LifeStream for many years and our employees are always ready to donate.”
Formed in 1981 as one of the first medical groups in the desert communities of southern California, Desert Oasis Healthcare (DOHC) is an affiliate of the Heritage Provider Network (HPN) founded by Dr. Richard Merkin. Today, HPN and its affiliated medical groups make up one of the nation’s leading physician-driven healthcare solutions organizations.
DOHC continues to advance with changes in the healthcare market, providing primary and immediate care, home health, palliative care, and other services to more than 70,000 members/patients living in the greater Coachella Valley and the Morongo Basin of Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The multidisciplinary and comprehensive care programs of DOHC are committed to educating individuals on preventative health care in their daily lives, reflected in the DOHC motto, “Your Health. Your Life. Our Passion.” For more information, visit www.mydohc.com.
