Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin is excited to announce a new community resource and permanent blood donation center on Milwaukee’s North Side within the ThriveOn Collaboration’s ThriveOn King development. Scheduled to open in 2023, the nearly 3,500 square-foot facility at the former Gimbels-Schuster’s building on 2153 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive will serve as a community hub for Versiti, focused on providing resources to address healthcare disparities in Milwaukee neighborhoods and beyond through training and employment, education and blood donation.

“Versiti has proudly been part of the Milwaukee community for 75 years. While we have made great strides to address racial disparities in blood and organ donation, we know there is much work yet to do,” said Chris Miskel, president and CEO of Versiti. “Through advocacy and community outreach, Versiti hopes to further establish itself as a trusted resource and agent of change for the donors and patients we serve.” 

As an anchor tenant at the ThriveOn King building, Versiti will bring expertise around: 

Employment and Job Skill Training – Versiti is always hiring and recruiting top talent. At the ThriveOn King location, Versiti will provide access to training and development resources for individuals looking to start or advance a career in healthcare. Job skill training will include phlebotomy training, along with other job preparedness resources, including job fairs, resume writing and interview workshops.

Education – Patients with conditions like sickle cell disease, cancer, lupus or organ failure require frequent blood transfusions. They are more likely to find a match and less likely to have physical reactions to blood or organs donated by donors of the same race. In this space, Versiti will partner with experts from the local community to educate and raise awareness about the importance of donor diversity and its impact on recipients.  

Blood Donation – Every day, more than 10,000 patients—from those undergoing long-term transfusion treatments to accident victims—rely on the generosity of blood donors to survive. The percentage of ethnically diverse patients who have a need for rare blood continues to increase. Yet, ethnically diverse blood donors continue to be a very small part of the overall blood donor population nationwide. Providing access to a permanent blood donor center in the community will allow Versiti to reach more donors, ultimately providing a better quality of life for patients who require rare blood. 

“Versiti’s commitment to health equity and resources for the community aligns with the dedication of ThriveOn Collaboration to make generational investments in the well-being of Milwaukee communities aimed at eliminating racial, health, economic and social disparities,” said Greg Wesley, co-lead of the ThriveOn Collaboration. “Offering new resources and opportunity to the community, based on their feedback and collaboration, is a key goal coming to fruition.”

Established by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the Medical College of Wisconsin and Royal Capital, the community based ThriveOn Collaboration was founded on a joint vision for a Milwaukee that is equitable, healthy and thriving for all. 

To learn more about Versiti’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in organization and the communities we serve, visit Versiti.org.

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About Versiti

Versiti, a national leader in blood health innovation, was formed with the mission to improve the health of patients and enable the success of our healthcare partners nationally. We provide innovative, value-added solutions in the fields of transfusion medicine, transplantation, and blood-related diseases to meet the needs of each of our customers. The collective efforts across Versiti result in improved patient outcomes, expanded access to care, and cost efficiencies for healthcare systems nationwide. For more information, visit versiti.org.

About the Greater Milwaukee Foundation

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation is Wisconsin’s largest community foundation and was among the first established in the world. For more than a century, the Foundation has been at the heart of the civic community, helping donors achieve the greatest philanthropic impact, elevating the work of changemakers across neighborhoods, and bringing people and organizations together to help our region thrive. Racial equity is the Foundation’s North Star, guiding its investments and strategies for social and economic change. Leveraging generations of community knowledge, cross-sector partnerships and more than $1 billion in financial assets, the Foundation is committed to reimagining philanthropy, recentering communities and remaking systems to transform our region into a Milwaukee for all.

About the Medical College of Wisconsin

With a history dating back to 1893, the Medical College of Wisconsin is dedicated to leadership and excellence in education, patient care, research and community engagement. More than 1,500 students are enrolled in MCW’s medical school and graduate school programs in Milwaukee, Green Bay and Central Wisconsin. MCW’s School of Pharmacy opened in 2017. A major national research center, MCW is the largest research institution in the Milwaukee metro area and second largest in Wisconsin. In the last ten years, faculty received more than $1.5 billion in external support for research, teaching, training and related purposes. This total includes highly competitive research and training awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Annually, MCW faculty direct or collaborate on more than 3,100 research studies, including clinical trials. Additionally, more than 1,650 physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, provide care in virtually every specialty of medicine for more than 2.8 million patients annually.

About Royal Capital

At Royal Capital, having the opportunity to serve its communities in such an intimate and catalytic manner, is a privilege that it carries with high appreciation. From housing, retail, philanthropy, and community services, the people of Royal Capital are grateful for the opportunity to provide quality experiences that stretch beyond bricks and mortar. With a disciplined strategy and intentional execution, its efforts have led to the development of quality sustainable communities, while achieving the double bottom line for its investors and partners. The employees of Royal Capital are proud to be considered leaders in urban development, and we maintain our excitement to build, create, and be afforded the opportunity to “color outside the box.”