Hearts Afire

Welcome to Hearts Afire, the podcast for the team working every day at BioBridge Global to save and enhance lives through the healing power of human cells and tissue. We're happy you're listening and thank you for everything you do and now here's the host of Hearts Afire, Adrienne Mendoza.

ADRIENNE: Welcome to our latest feature on Hearts Afire, our podcast, and today my special guest is Lisa Kisley. And I wanted to welcome you Lisa and congratulate you on your 10-year anniversary of the organization.
So tell us how did you wind up with the organization and what is your title here? What is your title, your role and how did you wind up here?
LISA: My title is, I am fixed sites supervisor of the Bulverde donor center, and I supervise the center as well as being hands-on with the staff.
ADRIENNE: That is really exciting, because the Bulverde donor centers are our newest donor center.
LISA: Right, it's brand-new and it's beautiful and we've been really well received out there. All of the community is real happy to have us.
ADRIENNE: We are super excited about that. So what sorts of jobs have you done with South Texas and how did you actually kind of end up in this role here”
LISA: I started donating I think in 2001. I saw a big blood drive being advertised at a mall and I thought, I have two little kids, I don't have time to donate, I don't really have any money to donate, but I have blood. So I started donating and did that for years and years actually um had the opportunity to draw blood from the news reporter that had run that original newscast that I saw.
And then I was working at my girls’ elementary school until they graduated high school. After high school, I was like I don't need to do this job anymore, I can work a full-time job. I don't know what I’m going to do I was donating blood in New Braunfels and talking to my technician, and she said come and work here. So I came to work here and it was great.
It was difficult, I worked in mobiles for I guess the first eight years. That's rough work, it can be very difficult, but real rewarding, very busy.
I started as a technician. After about three years, I was encouraged to become a team leader, so I did that. That involved a lot of different things and different level of atmosphere, I guess being in charge and setting up and having to communicate with the contact people and everything. But it was fun.
And then COVID happened, and I asked to just be put to New Braunfels for a couple weeks till it was until was over, and it's not over yet. It's still going on isn't it?Going on that I kind of incorporated into becoming a fixed site tech and then the opportunity came for Bulverde and I accepted and I’m really happy with it.
ADRIENNE: Well we're really glad you accepted that. We know that you've been a great, you know, leader just naturally in in the area. I've heard great things from James from the whole team from mobile ops, the fixed site team as well, and they're just really excited that you're there and I could not think of a better person to be in the Bulverde donor room, really making it theirs. I went up there for the grand opening and feel the sense of sort of the pride of ownership that you have and the team there really looks up to you and to see your picture on the wall, you know? I think that's a nice touch and I think that the community there feels reassured that they've got a good leader for the donor center that's there in their community.
So how does it feel, how did that feel that day that grand opening happened? Tell us what you felt in terms of that the donor center, how it came together.
LISA: It was a little overwhelming, that's not my forte actually but it was a lot of fun to see everybody there. A lot of those people have come back to donate. Some just stop in to say hi, let me drop off my cards, do you know what's going on with the road widening? So it has made me feel like a community member they'll just drop in or they'll come in and say hey I was at hp you're open now can I donate so it's really been a lot of fun and getting to know the donors.
Like we already have repeat donors for platelets or people saying let me make my next appointment so it feels it does feel like home.
ADRIENNE: That's awesome. Well we're really excited about what's going on there and it's really hit the ground strong. I know that we've had you know it's it takes a time to build a donor base and get the community knowing that they're there but Bulverde is showing some strong early results as far as how donors are responding and coming back. So the team's doing a great job because it's a sign that they're really you're treating them with the utmost care and they're excited to be there they know they're making a difference and they're coming back so that is a very very good sign.
So you know what do you like most about being a supervisor in the Bulverde site? You're kind of a newer supervisor of in terms of being leading a donor center and leading that team. What's your favorite thing about that role?
LISA: I think my favorite thing is about going back to my place every day. When I was a mobile lead, I liked setting up my own drives because then it felt like mine, but then I had to take it down at the end of the day. Now I get to just go back to my site every day and open the door and it's just as pretty as it was when I left the night before.
Having the respect of my people that work with me, but we work as a team um so that's great and getting to know the community has been a lot of fun.
ADRIENNE: Yeah yeah I'll bet it is. I was really encouraged that day, for me I was with you at the grand opening and you know to see the outpouring of support from the community and from all different groups there was the the veterans there. There were the chamber of commerce members from the banks who helped, you know, help us fund the center along with the philanthropists who gave money to help us build the center.
They were all there and I just I felt that they were kind of giving us a big warm hug of like we are so glad you're here. We wish you the best success and then the fact that they're coming back as some of them as donors just shows you that it's a really good community. The Bulverde community seems tight-knit, they seem to care for uh their community and really work towards being part of it and being a blood donor I think is a big part of being part of your community they are and they're very laid back and casual and and make you feel like part of the community so it's been nice yeah.
So what uh sorts of challenges are there to opening up a new donor center? Tell us about that because you have kind of lived through in a unique experience having, you know we've only really had Boerne and Bulverde now opened up, and I think it's been like 10 years since our last donor center was really opened or really renovated, so there's been a long time what were some of the experiences or challenges that you had before the opening day?
LISA: Mostly the waiting, because it kept getting set back and stepped back but we managed. I had one time said I was gonna get my toolbox and drive out there and help them get it ready because I was just really eager to have it done. So there was that after we opened there's a few little things that we have to wait on or or that weren't working quite right but everybody came to help and and make sure that everything was running the way it's supposed to and technically temperature wise all those little things.
Boerne opening first helped us I think because we were able to avoid some of the other little issues and I think other than that just filling up the donors so we have more than you know six or ten or twelve a day and I think it will happen yeah it will I think it'll take time but it's it's happening uh as people come in they see it they're gonna refer friends they're gonna see that it's there to that people are going and I think the curiosity actually is kind of a good thing people curious what's going on there and they want to stop it and see and then they learn about it.
ADRIENNE: So you've had several jobs before you joined us I think, as far as I know. How did those jobs prepare you for for this new role?
LISA: I've done a few things. I worked in an elementary school clinic which was interesting, my first time using needles on people was giving insulin shots to little kids so there was that training I did some retail management so that's helped me as well with things like inventories and ordering and supplies and stuff. And then I was a bartender for several years in Arizona, that's that's an interesting job but it does prepare you in ways for things like um being fast-paced very busy and then dealing with all kinds of customers in customer service.
I think all those things have helped me with this job what advice would you give to someone who's just joining South Texas Blood & Tissue or just been here for a few months and learning, I would say just stick with it.
I never thought when I started here just over 10 years ago that at this point I would be supervising my own site. You never know. Things change in this in this company all of the time there's always an opportunity and if this is what you want to do stay with it it'll be worth it.
ADRIENNE: Yeah I know you mentioned um to me you know we were talking the other day about how you see us as how you see the role that the frontline staff have in the organization as so critical and I completely agree.
Tell me you know how do you think about that for if you were to help someone paint a picture of what you all do on the front lines to really support um our mission? What would be that picture you'd paint the the of bees so to speak?
LISA: The way that I see it, yes is that we are the worker bees we are the the ones that are out there collecting essentially the honey that will be processed and given to a patient in need, but our job without us we would have no honey.
ADRIENNE: Yeah that's so true yeah without you guys and without the people who are out there working every day putting in a lot of extra effort and working so hard, I mean, through these hot days they're out on the mobiles packing up stuff unloading stuff loading it back up unloading it again and then going and opening up a donor center.
Figuring out the schedules for the day you know working with different customers without that I i can I you know we just simply would not be able to do it wouldn't have like you said the honey um and you all really do make a huge profound impact in people's lives probably don't see that as as directly as I wish you all could but uh you and everyone on the team who really works in the front line from collections to manufacturing and testing to distribution and hospital services that's really where the the you know uh progress happens every day the work that actually gets put through and say to save lives happens at that level and I’m here you know really to support you guys but I learned so much from you. And I’m inspired by the work you all do every day so I’m just really grateful to get to know you. I’m excited for the Bulverde donor center and your team and Lisa I thank you so much for joining us.
LISA: Thank you for having me this is it's been wonderful I appreciate it.
ADRIENNE: Absolutely. Well thank you all right.

Executive producers of Hearts Afire are Heather Hughes and Jay Podjenski. Your director is David King with technical assistance from matt flores our logo was designed by roberto esquivel our host is adrian mendoza if you have an idea for Hearts Afire please feel free to email us Hearts Afire at buybridgeglobal.org