Director of The Blood Center East Texas Retires Dec. 30
On Thursday, Dec. 29, Blood Center staff and the East Texas community bid a fond farewell to Mary Frances Bradford, Director of The Blood Center East Texas, who is retiring on Friday, Dec. 30, after 14 years of service with The Blood Center.
Christopher Baker, who is currently serving as Director of The Blood Center of Brazos Valley, will now also lead The Blood Center of East Texas as the newly appointed Director of Regional Operations.
The Blood Center East Texas became an affiliate of Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center on Dec. 1, 1995, and Mary Frances Bradford was hired to lead BCET in 1997. At that time, BCET served only one hospital.
“Growing up here, you had to travel to Dallas or Houston for almost any kind of surgery. Our East Texas hospitals now offer open-heart surgery and chemotherapy – we have the opportunity to receive amazing health care in East Texas now, and The Blood Center East Texas has been able to support that and meet the needs of our hospitals as they have grown,” Bradford said.
Now, The Blood Center East Texas serves seven hospitals and has more than tripled its growth since 1998, Bradford said. Responding to the community’s health care growth is something she counts among her biggest accomplishments, while acknowledging that BCET’s committed donors, employees and advisory board members truly made this growth possible.
“Mary Frances is an important part of the community and will continue to be a part of the BCET family,” said Technical Services Manager Theresa Fain, who has worked with Mary Frances for 13 years. “She is a leader, a mentor and an example of excellence in the blood banking profession. We wish her much happiness in her retirement, but we will miss her smile and friendship at BCET.”
Bradford’s future plans include traveling and taking care of a recently inherited farm that has been in her family since 1845.
“I’ve been honored to be a part of this community,” Bradford said. “I look forward to continuing to visit The Blood Center as a Commit for Life donor.”