White Coats: Lisa Entrikin on Improving Retention With a Positive Donor Experience

“White Coats” is an AABB News series that interviews the experts that are transforming the fields of transfusion medicine and biotherapies. Join AABB today to read the rest of this month’s issue.

Lisa Entrikin is CEO of the Rock River Valley Blood Center (RRVBC), headquartered in Rockford, Ill. She is responsible for the strategic priorities and management of the blood center, which employs 90 people and serves 14 hospitals across a nine-county region in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.

During her 21 years at the blood center, Entrikin has been integral in helping the organization become a leader in blood center processes and management to grow collections and expand territory. With 28 years of experience in the blood banking field, she has participated in, or led, virtually all aspects of the business.

Entrikin began her career in recruitment, then expanded into operations, including collections, components and distribution. An active member of the Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP) for more than 20 years, Entrikin has served on the Advisory Board multiple times and has served as the organization’s president. Entrikin is passionate about donor recruitment and retention. She is also a 14-gallon blood donor. Entrikin spoke to AABB News about her longtime career in the blood field and her passion to create a positive donor experience.

How did you become interested in the blood field in general and, more specifically, donor recruitment?

Like many people, I started donating blood in high school, mainly to get out of class. After college, the company I was working for wanted to host a blood drive and I volunteered to be the chairperson. I loved it! After getting married, we moved out of state, and I sent a resume to the local blood center asking to be a donor recruiter. They did not have any openings, but I was hired to manage their call center and eventually was able to manage all recruitment.

What have you enjoyed the most about your work as a recruitment professional?

The aspect I enjoy most is the people. The donors are wonderful, and the people that work at blood centers are so passionate about what they do. I was able to attend ADRP early in my career, and I was hooked. Being able to interact with others that did what I did and share ideas helped me tremendously. I have made so many lifelong friends from around the country and even around the world.

What are some common challenges or obstacles impacting your work today?

The biggest challenge today is getting a message out that will resonate with people and make them take action to donate. And even more challenging is finding the right medium. We still do traditional advertising on radio and TV, but a good portion of our budget goes to digital advertising. It’s very challenging to spread budget dollars over so many different areas, but our goal is to touch as many people as possible as many times as we can.

Encouraging a diverse donor pool and attracting younger donors is important for the future blood supply as loyal donors age out of the donor pool. How can donor recruiters address this issue?

Social media is a great tool, but it can be difficult to manage. The younger generation is driven by social issues, so showing the impact blood donation has on people’s lives is a great way to get them interested. The hard part is getting in front of them in some way to hear the message.

What do you wish more people knew about donor recruitment?

I wish people understood how fragile the blood supply can be. The statistic used to be that 5% of the eligible population gave blood; recently that number has fallen to 3%. In some areas of the country, it is less than that. People take a stable blood supply for granted. In most cases, what hospitals and patients experience makes it appear that blood is readily available. That’s because we are good at our jobs. I wish people understood how hard we work to make sure hospitals have what they need – moving blood products from hospital to hospital or trying to import from a center that may have extra. It can be extremely stressful, but most people have no idea what is going on behind the scenes.

Can you tell us about your passion and efforts to create a positive donor experience that brings donors back?

I believe any center's biggest asset is their staff. I always tell our new employees, especially those in recruitment and collection, how vital their roles are in fulfilling our mission. Having a team that is focused on the donor and understands the significance of the donor’s experience is vital to retention. Every position at a blood center plays a key role in the organization’s success. It all comes back to donors and patients. Making donors want to come back is what helps ensure blood will be available for those in need.

Has rock river valley blood center developed any new, unique initiatives for National Blood Donor Month?

National Blood Donor Month is always a great way to talk about the importance of blood donation. This year, we are kicking off a donor frequency program for whole blood and platelets to try and increase the donations of individual donors. This is certainly nothing new and we have had them in the past. In our industry, bringing back old ideas and reworking them to fit the new donor population can be very successful. This is something we haven’t done in a while, and we hope the new spin will encourage people to donate more often.

What are your favorite leisure activities outside of work?

I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, just being with people that I care about. When I’m not doing that, I’m shopping. I love to shop! I would rather go to a store and look at things and touch them than buy something online and wait to see if it’s what I thought it was.