STBTC CEO to oversee development of affiliate company,
board names new Center president SAN ANTONIO (January 6, 2010) — The Board of Directors for the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center (STBTC) announced today that President/CEO and Medical Director Norman Kalmin, MD will transition to a new role as President/CEO and Medical Director of Qualtex Laboratories, an affiliate of STBTC that is expanding its testing services and opening a satellite facility in Norcross, Ga. in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Kevin Land, MD, will succeed Dr. Kalmin as the President/CEO and Medical Director of STBTC. Dr. Land, currently the Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of Bonfils Blood Center in Denver, Colorado, will assume duties as the chief executive and medical director of STBTC on July 1, 2010.
Dr. Kalmin, who has served as CEO of the Center for 26 years, will relocate mid-year to supervise the further development of Qualtex Laboratories’ facility in Georgia. Qualtex provides infectious disease testing services to blood banks and plasma center customers, many of which are on the east coast of the United States. Qualtex was spun off from STBTC as a separate Food and Drug Administration registered organization in 2007 and has quickly grown into a worldwide provider of testing solutions.
During Dr. Kalmin’s tenure, STBTC evolved from a small blood center that collected 50,000 pints of blood with annual revenue of less than $5 million to an organization that in 2009 collected more than 200,000 blood components, provided over 5,000 tissue allografts, banked 6,000 cord blood units and tested in excess of 7 million biological samples. It is budgeted to generate some $148 million in 2010. The Center provides the highest quality blood and tissue products and services to local, regional and international patients and customers. The Center serves more than 100 hospitals and clinics in 43 South Texas counties and employs more than 800 team members.
Under Dr. Kalmin’s guidance, STBTC was the first blood and tissue center in the nation to become an ISO 9000 registered facility in 1996. This is the international designation awarded by the International Organization for Standardization to recognize excellence in quality systems. Dr. Kalmin explained that Qualtex’s development is part of the vision of the Center to continue its evolution from a predominantly local blood center into a world-class blood, tissue, testing, cord blood, and research institution, while fulfilling the needs of the residents of San Antonio and South Texas.
“The growth and diversification of services through Norman’s leadership have been keys to our success as one of the most respected community healthcare facilities in the country,” said Dr. Anthony Infante, Chair of the STBTC Board of Directors. “Establishing Qualtex Laboratories, the National Marrow Donor Program registry and the Texas Cord Blood Bank are just a few examples of the life-saving, innovative programming Dr. Kalmin has initiated and fostered in South Texas. We know he will do a tremendous job building Qualtex Laboratories into a leading, worldwide resource for blood and plasma testing.”
Dr. Kalmin completed his medical training at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa in 1971. He began a clinical pathology residency at the South African Institute for Medical Research in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1975 prior to emigrating to the United States in 1976 with his wife, Jenny and two children, Justine and Bruce. He completed his residency at the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, New York in 1979 and received his certification in pathology in 1980 and blood banking in 1981 from the American Board of Pathology. He joined STBTC as medical director in 1983 and was appointed CEO of the organization shortly thereafter. Previously, he was the associate medical director for the American Red Cross Blood Services in Atlanta.
Dr. Kalmin has served on and chaired many local, national and international blood and tissue boards and committees and is currently the vice president of the International Society of Blood Transfusion, headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity that the South Texas community has given me over the years to build STBTC into a world class facility that has enhanced the lives of thousands of patients in this region and across the globe,” Dr. Kalmin said. “I look forward to developing the services provided by Qualtex Laboratories and am delighted that my transition to an affiliate of STBTC will enable me to remain part of the organization that has been my professional home for more than a quarter century. The exciting challenge of expanding our testing laboratories requires my full time attention, but I would not have made this transition without knowing that my successor at STBTC, Kevin Land, was more than capable of leading and enhancing the other services of this organization.”
Dr. Land joins STBTC with more than a decade of experience in pathology and blood services. While serving as Bonfils Blood Center’s first chief medical and scientific officer, he has provided strategic and operational leadership as well as medical and scientific direction related to blood services and products, laboratory testing, donor collection and counseling, hospital relations, expansion of new business and services, and clinical research. Prior to Bonfils, Dr. Land served as medical director of Blood Systems Laboratory in Bedford, Texas and medical director of laboratory services for Carter BloodCare in Dallas. He also served on the faculty in the pathology department at UT Southwestern.
“Kevin brings a wealth of experience to the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center,” Dr. Infante said. “Bonfils is a well-respected organization of similar size and programming as STBTC. Dr. Land’s clinical interests in transfusion medicine, cellular therapies, education and patient safety are critical skills to bring to STBTC as the Center continues growing to meet the needs of South Texas and the state. He is an excellent fit for STBTC as we move into this new era.”
“The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center is recognized throughout the nation as one of the premier centers for innovation in blood collection and services, and I look forward to joining an already highly-skilled team,” Dr. Land said. “It is an honor to be following such a distinguished leader in transfusion medicine as Dr. Norman Kalmin. South Texas is a rapidly growing area with evolving needs. I know STBTC must remain committed to meeting its patient’s needs for quality blood products while continuing to expand and evolve its services to handle ever changing healthcare demands. I am excited to be coming to San Antonio and being involved with this dynamic organization, city, region and state.”
A Texas native, Dr. Land earned his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of North Texas in Denton and completed his medical degree and his residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He completed a fellowship in medical informatics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and transfusion medicine at Parkland Memorial Hospital/Carter BloodCare. In addition to other activities, Dr. Land currently serves as chair of the America’s Blood Centers’ scientific, medical and technology committee and the AABB’s Donor Biovigilance working group. He is also past chair of the Texas Medical Association’s Blood and Tissue Usage Committee.