American Red Cross

So awesome. I donated my first time the other day on accident but on purpose. My son needed a parent to donate blood as a part of his health project. So I made an appointment, & all they said they had available was a slot open for platelet donations. I was like ok, it’s blood donations right? They said yes but it’s platelets. I was still confused. I said f it, I’ll do it to help my son out. I had never donated before. This location is located right off of the 405 freeway/​cherry exit. A pretty large facility, quite hard to miss w/​all of the Red Cross Symbols. I parked in their fairly large parking lot. Followed the sign that stated, «Blood Donations.» Walked in and was pleasantly greeted, signed in, took a survey to see if I qualify to give blood, took a small prick from my finger to see if I was anemic or not. You can’t donate if you are. This process took about 45 minutes, they were busy. No problem. There were cookies and water, so I grabbed some. I was nervous. Cookies, cookies, everywhere. I became comfortable some how. I saw a man go through a large drawer of DVDs and I couldn’t help but be nosey and ask,” You can watch movies here?” He said,” Only if your donating Platelets, are you?” I said,“Yes.” «Well than as soon as I’m done you can choose your movie.» I thought to myself hmmmmm… That’s a long time to sit w/​a needle in my arm. Hmmmm… Ok. Oh, well. If that older gentleman can do it, I can. I saw another older gentleman with blankets on him, watching a movie. If both of those older gentleman can do it, I can. I honestly felt, less nervous. Finally, I chose Mad Max: Fury Road to watch (amazing action film); was brought to a gurney bed and was made as comfortable as possible w/​one needle in each arm. The nurse explained that in one arm, saline and coagulant will go in one needle in my arm while the other will draw out blood, seperate the platelets in a bag, and the blood will than go back into my arm. Ok, I’ve got it. We start the process. She puts on my movie, along w/​my head phones. Ok, let’s do this. She placed two stress balls, one in each hand. Every five seconds I have to squeeze the stress ball to get the blood flowing. For 2 hours straight. Hmmm, interesting. Ok, got it. I was comfortable, didn’t move my arms, was watching my movie. Than the movie ended a good hour and 45 in. Than all of a sudden I felt so dizzy like I was going to faint. It was the weirdest thing. I told the nurse. And she said, «Ok, hunny your all done, we have a full bag from you thank you.» As she was taking the needles out of my arms, I fainted in my seat and she put cold pads all on me, I turned pale white, and forgot where I was at. It was honestly the strangest thing ever. I asked why that happened? She explained that I had blood being drawn out of me, platelets were being separated from my blood & being put into another bag, & the rest of my blood was put back in me along w/​saline water and coagulant. That its not a natural process for the body to go through so sometimes people feel faint and get dizzy and pass out like I did. I was 15 min shy of 2hours and I said,” I’m sorry I couldn’t finish.” She said, «Don’t worry hunny you filled a whole bag, your good!» Pheeeew I was so relieved. I later found out that my platelets can help a Cancer patient out. I was like what?! In shock. My mom past away to Cancer, so I really wanted to cry. I had no idea what I was in for, but I left glad that I did it. It was a very intense situation. For many years I’ve wondered what I could do to help cancer patients. I’ve finally found my way. It’s the least I could do. I had got up from the bed, went to the restroom light headed as heck, and they had cookies and crackers and juices and waters all set out for the donors recovery. After using the restroom, there was a nurse waiting for me and she kept asking me Are you ok? How are you? They were always there tending to myself and others, were sweet, smiling, talkative, informative, answered any and all questions, were gentle when putting in the needles, and reminded me to drink water. The entire staff and even the donors made me feel completely calm & comfortable at all times. It was very cool & clean in there, but they covered you with a few blankets to keep you warm, and if you needed a heating pad they would administer one if preferred. Next time I will most def go much more relaxed. I’d recommend to wear a warm sweater and some sweats w/​warm socks hair in a bun. As comfortable as possible. After your done you can go relax at a snack table and they encourage you to drink plenty of vitamin C beverages and crackers and snacks they provide. You can even take a selfie, like I did using their photo props. All in all, I’d most definitely do this again. In honor of my mom, & so many affected by Cancer. If my mom sat through painful chemo sessions, I could make this a challenged priority for myself. The Red Cross will most definitely see me again. Thanks again to all the lovely staff!

I attended American Red Cross for their NAT (Nursing Assistant Training) Program as a prerequisite to complete my registered nursing program. This class is $ ¹⁵⁰⁰⁄₃₀ days. In the thirty days, students manage to complete 71 hours of theory (lecture) and 100 hours of clinical rotation: two weeks of lecture, two weeks of clinical.
The instructors Liz, LVN, and Elaine, LVN, are very knowledgeable about the field of nursing. That much I can attest. However, the program is a joke. The program director, the structure, everything. And don’t even get me started on the clinical rotation.
Everyone will meet up at Long Beach Care Center, a convalescent home located only a few minutes from the back alley where lecture classes are held the first fifteen days, from the hours of 7:30 AM 2:30 PM, where you will shadow some of the most burned out, self loathing, abusive nursing assistants for an entire two weeks.
Now, get this – if you pass clinical, (yes, somehow you can fail the clinical rotation, according to Red Cross) after that, the you will return to the little shack upstairs where a pitiful graduation ceremony will be held. You will sit down, you smile when presented your certificate of completion and pretend that you have not been counting down the days until the end of the program from Day 1. After this, and again, if you pass, (and you can actually fail the state board examination, as 30% of my class did the first attempt despite American Red Cross’ alleged 99% passing rate), you wear your Kool Aid pants just one last time to sit for the boards, where you will scramble to unlearn all of the bad practices and unsanitary procedures that you witnessed under your CNA at the convalescent home that will have you fail the examination, if replicated.
Personally, you’d be better off saving your money and taking the class elsewhere.

Went to this facility for my CNA state exam.
18 people to register: an hour 30 mins.
18 people to hand wash: an hour 30 mins.
Split the group into skills only and both written and skills.
Skills only: 11
Both: 7
Written exam group took the test. 2 hour window. Cut off time was 1230. We all finish by 11:30 and we wait until 3 doing absolutely nothing waiting for our skills to begin. Mind you, it took them from 10:30 until 2:30 to finish 11 people doing skills. With 7 people in the second group, they finished us within an hour 30 mins. Two of the evaluators were cold as ice which made me resent the facility even more.
Completely inefficient. Waste of time. You don’t need to keep us there until 5 just because you say to expect to be there from 8 – 5. Please stop taking your sweet time when it is completely possible to finish everything earlier. Are you paid hourly? I don’t know. Regardless.

***This review is specifically for the Nurse Assistant Training (NAT) program.
I was looking to get my CNA license and after doing my research, I decided to go with American Red Cross. Initially, the reason why I picked this location were because of how easy it was to sign up. I went to ROP in Santa Ana and Costa Mesa, but both location either required new students to pass a paid assessment or to take a prerequisite course that would take 3 months and $ 400 to complete. ARC was a bit further for me but it was quick and easy to register, the cost of the program was also competitive.
Quite honestly, I had no idea what to expect out of the class. I just needed to get the training so I could pass the exam. As it turned out, this was one of the best experience I’ve had in the nursing field. Our class of 15 got the honor to be taught by two extraordinary individuals, Ms. Liz and Ms. Elaine. First day, I was intimidated by the instructor (shout out to Ms. Liz!!!). She is a straight-​forward, no nonsense kind of person. I soon found out she was the best teacher! She is there to help you succeed. She is a passionate nurse and a dedicated teacher. I cannot say enough good things about her. Ms. Elaine, who was co-​teaching, is also a very kind and funny person. She really went the extra mile to make sure the students were well-​prepared for the exam.
I also had the best classmates! Everyone came from different backgrounds and was there for different reasons but we all worked together so hard for 28 days straight (very intense but rewarding). I honestly have to say that this class prepared me for my next step in nursing. This was definitely the moment I found out what nursing is all about and that I could handle the grossest stuff to help another human being. Nothing is nicer than knowing that!
Thank you American Red Cross, Long Beach!

I have not had one complain about this place, they are super attentive and patient… they do not seem like they are in a rush.
Once you are signed in. they take you to the bank in no more than 5 minutes…
I have gone to donate blood and Platelets in which both cases they were very attentive in asking me if i needed more blankets or wanted candy…(I mean who says no to candies) and hey I cannot complain!
so yes this is my favorite location to come to for all of my donations

donate and save 3 lives. really easy to do. always good to donate, good for u and those u save

Great, friendly staff here. They make you feel very welcome. Plus donating blood or platelets is a win win situation. You help three people in need and you feel great for donating.

I try and give platelets every two weeks and it makes me feel so good to help. The staff is so sweet and they are great at what they do.

There was hardly a wait when we went to donate blood. We got in about 30 – 45 minutes before their closing time and they still took us. I had made an appointment for myself but when my friends wanted to come too, I just called them on our way over and of course they said it would be fine if my friends donate blood too.
You answer a health questionnaire and they draw blood from your finger to test your iron and once you pass, they set you up to donate blood. the whole process was quick. Afterward, there are juices and snacks on a table by the side where you can replenish your blood sugar.

Came here to get certified in Adult and Pediatric First Aid/​CPR/​AED. The class was 6 hours long (9am — 3pm) but it was so interesting and fun (thanks to the instructor James Thomas) that it went by super fast! Everyone had warned me that these courses were long, boring, and to have my caffeine ready… but NOPE! I enjoyed every bit of it! Lots of street parking too!

Hooray for donating blood! Hooray for good deeds! Hooray for the awesome nurses with amazing personalities and great senses of humor. Hooray for the kindly gentlemen who volunteer in their spare time to sit at the back table and make sure you’re eating enough crackers, cookies, and drinking enough juices.
Hooray all around!

Here to donate my most precious commodity. My blood, come on everyone it is time to donate and save a life.

After being away for a few years, I returned yesterday for apheresis or in lay terms, platelets donation. This is a process that takes about an hour to an hour and a half to complete. Thus, the time at the center is about 2 hours with check-​in, preparation, and recovery.
As soon as I entered, I was greeted by a pleasant young man at the door. I told him I had an appointment for apheresis. He handed me a booklet of required reading but didn’t tell me which area to wait in. I ended up sitting in the whole blood donation area, which was about 10 feet from him and in full view of his station. Mind you, all donors used to sit in the same area of the center the last time I donated.
A technician checked me in and after about 15 mins he realized that I was actually there for apheresis, not whole blood. He explained that I was sitting in the whole blood area, which was the reason for his confusion. I replied that I was sitting there because that’s where all donors used to sit, regardless of procedure — and the receptionist didn’t tell me otherwise.
As we walked over to the apheresis side, there was a woman at the central counter who told me that the next time I came in, I should sit on the apheresis side. Yeah, got that, lady. I didn’t appreciate that this was the FIRST thing she said to me — no greeting, no thank you for coming in, etc. She had assumed that I sat in the whole blood area and that her receptionist did everything correctly. I’m disappointed about the way that I was addressed by this woman in that she was somewhat abrupt with her presuming that it was my fault that I sat on the whole blood side. I believe that the receptionist needs to be trained to listen to donors, ask questions if in doubt about something, and to direct donors as to what to do upon arrival. Really simple, really. The woman could also use some training in customer service.
The technician who started the needle with me asked me which arm I usually have this done with. I replied the right arm. She studied my veins a bit then muttered, «I don’t like the way these look. They look too small.» I said nothing because that’s her job to figure it out. When she finally got the needle in — with some difficulty — she said under her breath, «I don’t know if this is going to work.» It was only after about 10 mins or so that another technician came over, re-​directed the needle in my vein without any pain, and was able to get it right. Please note that I’ve never had problems with my veins — either arm.
I do want to donate platelets again one day. But I’m not sure if I can take another experience of feeling somewhat like «cattle.» The staff there used to be very engaged and talked with donors like we really mattered. You’d constantly hear «thank you’s» almost as a means of saying hello to you before they asked you about something else. Example: «Thank you for coming in. How does that feel?» or «Thank you for donating today. Please sit for 15 minutes and have some snacks.»
Yes, little things still mean a lot for what I think is a lot for a donation: 2 hours of my time and platelets to help save lives.

LOVE the AMERICAN RED CROSS!!! DOnate BLood today and you can save 3 life’s!!! WOW. I Volunteered here a few times and found it my experience with donors and staff extremely pleasant. All of the staff here know what their doing and take care of our donors with great respect knowing they’re taking time off to make a differnce. Trust you me, Each donor make a great difference. YEs it might take a lil more time then expected because its a very delicate process. The staff needs to take every precaution neccesary to ensure each donor is taken care of. SO if you plan on donating i suggest to bring a book, magazine (although they have plenty of reading matterial) kindle, psp, phone, sny form of entertainment to get you through the wait game. Walkings are more then welcomed but appoinments are encouraged. donors are mandatory to read the very important information before they are interviewed by the nurse. THat usually can take up to 5 – 15 depending on how fast you read. (to be honest no body really like reading it and i dont think many really read it. lol) Once your dont reading the nurse will call your name and you are put into a very private room asked a test question, bp vitals are taken ect. After your nurse is finished with the questionaire then the magic begins when you save a life. After your blood is freshly pumped you are tampered by me or any other volunteer there monitoring you for 15 mins in the snack bar. average process usually takes approximately 45 to hour. Most times a little longer because people love donating and we get plenty of donor here at the Long beach donor center. SO please come donate.
Last time i was here donors got tickets to the clippers, 2 tix for $ 10 great deal (nose bleed section but you are able to upgrade your seat for $ 40 more). LA King tickets and a free mini bowl from flame broiler. mmmm…

I know the Red Cross provides a variety of services, but this review is primarily on my blood donation experiences. So if you live close to this branch, I strongly suggest you stop by soon to make a blood donation. I donated blood about 12 times, I would say ½ of those donations was @ Red Cross LB. I’ll occasionally donate @ Angel Stadium when they’re giving away free Angel tickets, but aside from that, I just go to Long Beach baby!
They have good volunteers and their entire staff is great. I always have a positive experience there. The smooth old skool r&b jams play in the background, so you might catch them singing a verse or two (in tune). They have great personalities too! I’m always laughing; they tend to joke around a lot. Before you know it, BAM, your donation is already done!
My donation routine is so basic and simple! I’m not gunna lie, I’m there soley for the free snacks & drinks now. They told me not to be shy so I go to town on those goodies!!! I sure do love Nutter Butters and those cute little Welch’s juice cans. Oh yeah, and saving lives is fantastic as well. This is the closest thing to being a Super Hero. So be an American and spare a pint of that red gold. You get a cool sticker, if that helps. Plus you get tickets or a gift certifcate just for donating… DO IT~!!!
PS — They always found the vein.

I can say I feel assured that I can save a life somewhere maybe on some Unilocal event when someone else is choking for dear life! I feel so comfortable to do it just because of what great classes and teaching was given at this location.
The class started from 8:00A.M — 5:00 P. M I signed up to get certified in:
Standard First Aid
AED– Adult
CPR– Adult
CPR– Child
CPR– Infant
All these classes were in a pretty large group of people and also the test that is given after each section is an oral one by the teacher. Simple and also you will have to be able to perform CPR on the fake dummy.
I signed up online which was really simple and wasn’t at all hard but to find this class was a little bit on the confusing side. But just ask someone in the front to direct where to go!
We did also get a 30 min. lunch break and a two 10 min breaks. Everything was learning and practice and also watching videos made it more comfortable! :)
The certificate is going to be given to you after the class and you will have it printed out and it won’t expire till 2 years ! :) Take a class to save a life.

Wow, can’t believe that no one reviewed the Red Cross yet. Me with a scant 200some reviews and I get another rare first with the Red Cross, go figure, I’ll take it.
Was here today for CPR/​AED and first aid training, as I’m trying to get into the security field and more certifications is always a good thing. Made my reservation and paid my $ 60 online, which was fairly straightforward. Parked in front, b/​c you couldn’t park in the back… that was reserved for staff and donors.
Instructor was an energetic gal who is an EMT, which helps b/​c most of the people that were here (mostly 20something gals) had that «I so do not want to be here» look in there eyes, suffice to say they didn’t participate much in class. Hell, I’m on my day off taking a class. At least I tried to inject a little humor and volunteered for a couple activities, seeing as everyone else had the «There’s no way in hell I’m volunteering» or the «I so do not want to be here» look. Cowards.
Last time I took the class was at least 25 years ago when I was in Scouts, but little has changed. Direct pressure is still the same. You don’t say the «H-​word» (Heimlich), b/​c its a copy write issue… try «abdominal thrust». I did a couple other things that made the instructor take notice and give me the «When the hell’s the last time you took a CPR class?» look. Hey, it was a long time ago, we didn’t have to deal with mouth shields and worry about all sorts of infectious crap… yah, so, I’m a dinosaur.
We had a gal leave the class after 5−10minutes, guess the class wasn’t her cup of tea… and I don’t know if the Red Cross issues refunds. Another guy had a family emergency and had to split, but the instructor took his info, so I guess he got some credit for time served.
Highlight of the day was the pastrami burger, Frings and Mountain Dew I had at the Golden Eagle.
2-​star deduction for parking (at least you can park on 29^th St.) and the fact I had to pretty much blow my usual Thursday night off to go to a class, b/​c going to a class without sufficient sleep or even a .5 degree hangover is no bueno.