The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center (STBTC) held a grand opening ceremony Aug. 6 for its new Donor Pavilion located on the same campus,  behind the existing STBTC headquarters.  Donors in our community were among the elite group of heroes honored in the ceremony for their continuous support in our life-saving mission.  San Antonio police officers, firefighters, EMS responders, military personnel and Bexar County sheriff deputies were also recognized with Connect for Life medals for saving lives through their work, and taking the time to donate blood. 

 “The pavilion reflects the growing need for life-saving blood and blood components in our service area,” said Norman D. Kalmin, MD, president/CEO and medical director of the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center.  “STBTC is one of only a few centers nationally that offers such a diversity of human derived biological materials, including blood, tissue, marrow and cord blood in addition to testing laboratories.”

Every day the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center must collect at least 600 units of blood to meet the needs of hospital and emergency treatment facilities.  Blood components enhance the lives of patients with cancer and other diseases, organ transplant recipients and accident victims.  This new 45,000 square foot donor pavilion will enable STBTC to better serve the growing needs of the community.

STBTC first opened its doors as a not-for-profit community blood bank under the name ‘South Texas Regional Blood Bank’ in January 1974.  Since then, it has grown from 35 employees to more than 700.

Special to the Northwest Weekly

U.S. Rep. Ciro D. Rodriguez (TX-23), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, on Monday announced $1,126,147 in funding for the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) to go toward clinical research related to neurological disorders.

“Neurological disorders affect an estimated 50 million Americans each year,” said Rodriguez.  “It is funding for important research projects like these that will allow us to learn more about neurological disorders, including better ways to diagnose, treat and prevent them.”

The funding comes from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  The NINDS conducts and supports research on brain and nervous system disorders.

Between packing for college, buying school supplies and recovering from sticker shock, parents may be too bogged down to remember to pass on some financial words of wisdom as their child leaves the nest. To help college-bound students build a foundation of sound financial habits, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) offers some advice for parents to bestow on their freshmen.

Last year alone, approximately 2 million students graduated from high school and headed to college. While most were equipped with bedding and books, many were ill-equipped on the subject of financial literacy.

According to a 2007 survey by Charles Schwab, fewer than half of teens considered themselves knowledgeable on how to budget money (41 percent), how to pay bills (34 percent) or how credit card interest and fees work (26 percent).

“College years are the time when many young adults establish habits they will carry with them for the rest of their lives, and, while it’s important that they tackle academics, it’s critical that they also learn everyday skills - such as how to manage their money - in order to become successful in life,” said Carrie A. Hurt, president and CEO of BBB serving Central and South Central Texas. “Aside from leading by example, parents have an active role to play in ensuring their children are equipped to handle their own finances away from home.”

BBB recommends that parents sit down and discuss four key rules for managing personal finances:

n Be responsible with credit cards. According to a U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) survey, two out of three college students report having a credit card, of which about two-thirds are responsible for paying their monthly bill. Overall, freshmen responsible for their own cards had average credit card balances of $1,301.

While having a credit card is an important first step for a college student to start building a credit history, parents need to stress the importance of using credit responsibly. This includes having a minimal number of credit cards, paying off the balances every month and keeping a rein on spending.

n Start saving money now, even if it’s just a small amount every month.

Developing good saving habits early on will help a college student reap the benefits throughout his or her life. Aside from the inherent benefits of saving money, starting early means taking advantage of what Albert Einstein described as one of the most powerful forces in the universe: compound interest. For example, if a freshman saves $50 every month and puts it into a high-interest savings account or money market account that earns 5 percent interest, by graduation, they’ll have saved more than $2,660 including dividends. If they continue to save $50 every month at five percent interest, in 25 years, they’ll have saved nearly $15,000 and reaped another $15,000 in dividends.

n Pay your bills on time. U.S. PIRG found that more that 40 percent of college students who managed their own credit cards had either paid bills late or paid at least one over-the-limit fee. Credit card companies often charge late fees as high as $40. Add to that any accruing interest, which can be upwards of 30 percent, and college students will quickly see how much can be lost by not paying a bill on time and in full.

Redbud Hall Library and Learning Resources will house an innovative new library and multimedia classes. A trendy Cyber Café, situated right over the campus’ new environmentally friendly lake, is also in the plans. Courtesy photo

By Sarah Snyder
Staff Writer

Northwest Vista College opened in 1995 with 12 students and one faculty member. Classes were held in portables until 1998, when 700 students and 10 faculty members moved into permanent buildings.

On Aug. 25, Northwest Vista will open its doors to 12,000 students and more than 600 full- and part-time employees on a campus that now contains 10 buildings on 137 acres of natural landscaping.

Among the newest additions are the Redbud Hall Library and Learning Resources, the Juniper Hall Academic Center, a new facilities building … and even a body of water, Lago Vista lake.

It’s been a long road to these facilities, said Northwest Vista president Jackie Claunch. With a booming student population and buildings that can’t keep up, the campus has had to get creative.

“We find little nooks and crannies to put staff in,” Claunch said. “The parking lot is packed at 3:30.”

“We’ve really made excellent use of the facilities we have, but there are things we couldn’t have because there wasn’t good space to provide them in.”

She said the close quarters taught them to be creative, and it built a sense of community that could be felt on a recent visit, where every faculty member seemed to know the other in the cafeteria as lunchtime drew to a close.

Claunch said growth at Northwest Vista is projected to be 1,000 to 1,200 students a semester. In three or four years, she expects the population to reach 15,000.

Debra Morgan, dean at Northwest Vista, says the ride has been breathtaking.a“This has been an amazing journey.  We will double our square footage and increase 10-fold our ability to effectively serve students both in and out of the classroom,” Morgan said.

Building boom

- Cypress Campus Center (November 2008): Houses dining services, bookstore, and services such as advising, financial aid and registration. Also a center for career services, a multicultural center and more.

- Huisache Health and Wellness Renovation (Fall 2009): Renovation of cafeteria, lounge, bookstore and student engagement areas, which will move to the Cypress Campus Center. An attached building, to open in January 2010, will include a gymnasium and additional fitness areas for students and employees.

- Juniper Hall Academic Center (now open): Houses several academic support labs in addition to the classrooms that will be home to the disciplines of English, reading, mathematics, education and English as a Second Language (ESL).

- Live Oak Hall Academic Center (December 2008): Classrooms and laboratories for biology, biotechnology, chemistry, geology, physics, astronomy, engineering, upper division mathematics, history, government, sociology, anthropology, geography, psychology and speech.

- Redbud Hall Library and Learning Resources (now open): Houses the library and several classrooms on the third floor for multimedia, music, art, mass communications and gaming.

- Palmetto Fine and Performing Arts Center (June 2009): Home to a 400-seat theater, a dance recital hall, a music recital hall, a black box theater and classrooms that support instruction in dance, art, music, and theater.

Source: Northwest Vista Web site