Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center

At Texas-based Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, the harsh environment of a mobile blood collection operation was wreaking havoc on the center's standard issue commercial laptops. In order to stay efficient, staff had to work hard and fast. And they needed laptops that could keep up.

They decided to equip staff with Toughbook rugged laptops. The "benefits have been tremendous," said Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center Management Information Systems Director Bart Block. In addition to a significant reduction in downtime, documentation errors were reduced to one quarter of what they were, and donors were pleased with the new self-screening process and reduced wait times.

It was clear that The Blood Center needed a durable laptop solution they could rely on. In April 2004, they replaced their commercial-grade laptops with Panasonic Toughbook® 72 laptops, with built-in wireless and touchscreens. About a year later, a four-alarm building fire destroyed most of their mobile equipment. In February 2005, they again chose Toughbook laptops, this time opting for the Toughbook 73. Today, the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center has over 100 Toughbook 73 laptops in service.