WICHITA – Due in part to the on-going economic slow down, the American Red Cross announced Tuesday it will close its office in Great Bend as of Sept. 2 as part of an agency-wide streamlining effort.
The Great Bend location is one of two in the state being shuttered, the other being in Colby. There are also other sites being closed nationwide.
According to James Williams, spokesperson for the Red Cross’ Midway-Kansas Chapter in Wichita, the local closure will save the organization about $29,000 annually. This includes the cost of one paid staff person and the office space, located at 1222 Kansas inside the Bank of the West building.
Red Cross is revamping how it does business “to become a better public servant and to make the best use of a donated dollar,” Williams said. Because of the slower-than-expected economic recovery and a changing business environment like increased costs for health and retirement benefits, it needed to become more efficient.
“The Red Cross isn’t a building and its success isn’t measured by store fronts,” he said. “Red Cross is a local volunteer who responds to a fire; a teenager who lifeguards as a summer job; or a family member who saves a loved one’s life with CPR.”
The local offices coordinate health and safety classes, as well as disaster services, Williams said, adding these duties will be transferred to volunteers. “Volunteers have always played a huge role in the Red Cross.”
The organization will up its recruiting and training efforts have this workforce in place.
Williams said Red Cross anticipates the change having little impact in the community. “It will still provide disaster response, teach health and safety courses like CPR and first aid, relay emergency communication to family in the military, and hold local blood drives.”
By Sept. 2, the spokesperson said residents will be able to call 1-800-REDCROSS and visit www.redcross.org for 24-hour Red Cross information.
“This consolidation isn’t unique to Great Bend,” Williams said. “Throughout the organization, we’ve consolidated our human resources, finance operations, information technology and marketing.” What was being done in smaller sites will be handled nationally.
Williams said Red Cross has been mulling such changes for some time. “There was a lot of deliberation at the regional, state and national levels.
 “When the next family is affected by disaster, a Red Cross volunteer will be there for them,” Williams said. “The things they’ll remember will be that hopefully everyone was OK and that Red Cross was there to walk them through it.”
For more information, visit www.redcross.org or join blog at http://blog.redcross.org.