BlueView

Colleen Holtkamp

Helmer designs, manufactures, and markets specialized medical and laboratory equipment to customers in more than 125 countries. With an extensive background in Helmer products, Colleen’s focus is on the Clinical Laboratory and Blood Bank segments.

Recent Posts

World Blood Donor Day 2022: Give Blood and Keep the World Beating

Posted on Jun 07, 2022 by Colleen Holtkamp

World Blood Donor Day is celebrated by organizations around the world annually on June 14. Blood transfusions are essential to helping patients survive surgeries, cancer treatment, and traumatic injuries. The purpose of dedicating a day to thank donors is to raise global...

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Clinical Labs Continue to Work Through Workforce Shortage Challenges

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Colleen Holtkamp

As the intensity of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has lessened, another crisis is coming into sharper focus. The shortage of laboratory staff, which has been an issue for many years, is a major concern for clinical laboratory leadership. As the most recent COVID-19 surge has tapered...

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Considerations for Selecting Automatic Cell Washers

Posted on May 17, 2022 by Colleen Holtkamp

Pre-transfusion testing refers to the laboratory tests required to ensure compatibility between a patient’s blood and a transfusion of donated blood. This process includes patient identification, sample collection and labeling, and laboratory testing to determine the patient’s...

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Clinical Centrifuges for Lipemia Removal, the STAT Lab, and More

Posted on May 03, 2022 by Colleen Holtkamp

Centrifuges are essential for preparing samples for analysis, and centrifugation is a critical step in many laboratory protocols. Clinical centrifuges are used for a variety of applications including serology, cytology, urinalysis, cell culture, and hematocrit centrifugation.

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Video: AgiTrak™ Monitoring for Platelet Agitators

Posted on Apr 28, 2022 by Colleen Holtkamp

AABB Standards detail the requirements for storage, transportation, and expiration of various blood products. According to this guidance, most platelet components should be stored from 20-24°C with continuous gentle agitation. To achieve these storage conditions, platelet...

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GX Solutions Undercounter Cold Storage Supports Operational Efficiencies

Posted on Apr 19, 2022 by Colleen Holtkamp

Helmer Scientific offers professional medical-grade refrigerators and freezers in a range of sizes to meet low to high volume storage capacity needs. Our compact undercounter units are useful for storing smaller volumes of products. They can also bring stored products such as...

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Video: Convenient Alarm Checks with i.C3® Automatic Alarm Testing

Posted on Apr 12, 2022 by Colleen Holtkamp

For temperature-controlled storage equipment in the blood bank, it is important to activate the alarms on a regular basis. This quality control step supports the blood bank’s quality management system and helps ensure alarms are functioning properly.

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Climate Change Regulations for Health Care Continue to Evolve

Posted on Apr 07, 2022 by Colleen Holtkamp

Climate change presents challenges to the delivery of safe and effective health care. Environmental issues exacerbate existing health threats and create new public health challenges. At the same time, healthcare organizations contribute to the climate crisis with significant...

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Blood Emergency Readiness Corps Continues to Expand

Posted on Mar 29, 2022 by Colleen Holtkamp

The Blood Emergency Readiness Corps (BERC) launched in September 2021 with seven founding blood centers. BERC’s mission is to prepare for emergency situations that immediately require large quantities of blood. These scenarios include natural disasters, mass shootings, or...

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Ultra-Low Freezers Designed to Keep Heat Out

Posted on Mar 22, 2022 by Colleen Holtkamp

Clinical laboratories rely on cold storage equipment to store patient specimens for extended periods of time. Dependable ultra-low freezers are essential for safeguarding their integrity. Therefore, quality and performance should be key characteristics at the foundation of how...

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Welcome

Welcome to the Helmer Blue View Blog. We aim to share relevant, actionable content for the blood bank, laboratory, and pharmacy. At Helmer Scientific WE CARE about you, the caregiver, and how we can help make your journey more meaningful.

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