Low supply elicits call for blood donations

Citing a critically low blood supply, Community Blood Center officials have issued an emergency appeal for blood donations.

“The blood inventory level for all major blood types are currently under a one-day supply,” said John Orrell, the blood center’s chief operating officer.

At least 1,500 units of blood need to be collected in the next week to ensure an adequate supply, blood center officials said. If collections fall short, elective surgery schedules may have to be interrupted.

Community Blood Center is the main provider of blood to 71 hospitals in Kansas and Missouri, including Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

The blood center in Lawrence, at 15th Street and Kasold Drive in the Orchard Corners shopping center, will offer extended hours until 6 p.m. today.

Tonganoxie resident charged with fraud

Kansas City, Kan. — A Tonganoxie woman was charged in U.S. District Court Thursday with submitting a false statement to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Michelle A. Webb, 41, is accused of sending an attending physician’s report to the Labor Department containing a forged physician’s signature on April 17, 2002.

If convicted, Webb faces a maximum of five years in federal prison without parole. The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Federal parole violator arrested in Lawrence

A man wanted for federal parole violation was arrested Tuesday in Lawrence by Douglas County Sheriff’s officers.

A Crime Stoppers phone tip led officers to a residence in the 800 block of 22nd Terrace, where they found Willie D. Paul, 23, Lawrence, Lt. Ken Massey said. He was arrested without incident, police said.

Paul was indicted in February 1998 for interfering with interstate commerce under the Hobbs Act by robbing a Lawrence liquor store, said a spokeswoman in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Wichita.

In July 1998, Paul pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 51 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. No information was available about how Paul may have violated his parole.

Couple finds new home after devastating fire

A Lawrence couple who became homeless when their mobile home was destroyed by fire last week have found a temporary place to live.

Roger Henry of H and S Holding has offered David Sears and Anita Owens several free months in one unit of a triplex near Lawrence Memorial Hospital, 325 Maine.

Henry will discuss rent with the unemployed couple after they have a steady income, said Jane Blocher, executive director of the Douglas County chapter of the American Red Cross.

“It’s a better environment for them than the trailer,” Blocher said. “They’re very happy about it.”

Sears and Owens were in the process Thursday of contacting those who had offered to donate household items.

Blocher said they would soon be out of the Lawrence Holidome, where they had been put up by the Red Cross since the Dec. 30 fire.

Cardiology association inducts KU researcher

A Kansas University researcher was inducted Thursday to the Association of University Cardiologists.

Dr. Patrice Delafontaine, director of the KU School of Medicine’s division of cardiovascular diseases, was inducted at the association’s annual meeting in Carmel, Calif.

The association, which is limited to 125 active members, works to stimulate interest, promote scientific research and advance education in cardiology.

Delafontaine came to KU in 2001 after serving as chair of cardiology at the University of Geneva in Switzerland and director of the Logue Service of Cardiology at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

Judge to consider revoking driver’s parole

A Douglas County judge next month could decide whether a man convicted of involuntary manslaughter violated his parole by drinking and driving.

Joshua C. Mattocks, 24, will be back in Douglas County District Court at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 6 before Judge Paula Martin. Martin set the date during a brief court hearing Thursday.

Mattocks pleaded no contest in March 2001 to a charge of involuntary manslaughter. He was convicted of driving the vehicle that ran over and killed John Lowe, 38. Mattocks also admitted to being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the April 28, 2000, incident.

Mattocks was serving the remainder of a three-year probationary period when he was arrested Dec. 14 in Springfield, Mo., for driving under the influence of alcohol and imprudent driving for striking another vehicle. One of the conditions of his probation was that he abstain from drinking alcohol.

Patient data system approved for LMH

Lawrence Memorial Hospital’s Board of Trustees has approved the purchase of a new clinical information system that automates access to patient information.

LMH has chosen the Cerner Corp. of Kansas City, Mo., to develop the new system at a cost of $4.07 million. The system, hospital officials hope, will enhance quality of care, increase patient safety and improve operational performance.

Highlights of the system include a comprehensive, computerized patient record; centralized scheduling; secure access to patient information by physicians from their offices or homes; and patient safety applications.