![\"Rami](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/REG-L-BloodBankReopens1272.jpg\")
Rami Nemeh, president and CEO of the Miller-Keystone Blood Center, speaks during the grand reopening of the center at 2744A Leisczs Bridge Road, Bern Township, on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\nMiller\u2011Keystone Blood Center marked the grand reopening of its renovated Reading Donor Center, unveiling a brighter, more spacious facility that leaders say strengthens the region\u2019s blood\u2011supply lifeline.<\/p>\n
The ribbon\u2011cutting Monday drew donors, staff, community leaders and elected officials to the center at 2745A Leiscz\u2019s Bridge Road in Bern Township, where Rami Nemeh, center president and CEO, said the upgrades represent far more than cosmetic improvements.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt renews our commitment to the community that we serve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Rami Nemeh, president and CEO of the Miller-Keystone Blood Center, speaks during the grand reopening of the center at 2744A Leisczs Bridge Road, Bern Township, on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
Make no mistake, Nemeh said, the blood center\u2019s mission saves lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we did here, \u201d he said, \u201cis to make sure that we have a space for our staff to do what they do best. And to have a safe space for our donors every time they walk in to donate the blood and save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
The project reconfigured donor and administrative areas, added donor chairs, installed energy\u2011efficient LED lighting and updated ADA\u2011compliant restrooms. Staff members said the changes have transformed the atmosphere.<\/p>\n
![\"Rami](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/REG-L-BloodBankReopens1270.jpeg\")
Rami Nemeh, president and CEO of the Miller-Keystone Blood Center, speaks during the grand reopening of the center at 2744A Leisczs Bridge Road, Bern Township, on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
Tamara West, an automated collection monitor who has worked at the site since shortly after 9\/11, said the center now feels less closed off. She noted that donors have formed friendships with other donors, and the new setup makes it easier to carry on conversations<\/p>\n
\u201cThe environment is just more pleasant and spacious, bright,\u201d she said. \u201cYou come in here, it\u2019s like alive. It feels good to be here. We finally got the perfect space.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Reading Donor Center is one of six fixed\u2011site locations operated by Miller Keystone, which also runs more than 1,000 mobile blood drives annually. Together, they collect roughly 350 donations per day to supply hospitals across eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey.<\/p>\n
Nemeh emphasized the stakes, pointing to a nationwide blood shortage and a recent case in a neighboring state where a woman with anemia was denied a transfusion because a hospital was conserving blood for emergencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure you don\u2019t want your neighbor to be in that situation,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t want your kids to be in that situation. And of course, you don\u2019t need yourself to be in that situation. But this is reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller Keystone serves hospitals across 18 Pennsylvania counties.<\/p>\n
Dr. Thomas A. Geng Jr., chairman of surgery and trauma at Reading Hospital and an Miller Keystone board member, said the renovated center will directly support patient care.<\/p>\n
![\"Tower](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/REG-L-BloodBankReopens1273.jpg\")
Tower Health trauma surgeon Dr. Thomas Geng Jr., chief medical officer at Reading Hospital, speaks during the grand reopening of the Miller-Keystone Blood Center, 2744A Leisczs Bridge Road, Bern Township, on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
He recalled treating a critical trauma patient just days earlier who required multiple units of whole blood, packed red cells and platelets.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time I have a bleeding trauma patient come in, I see the benefit of the wonderful generosity of our donors,\u201d Geng said.<\/p>\n
He also praised hospital staff who recently filled two emergency mobile blood drives within hours.<\/p>\n
Among those attending Monday\u2019s event was Mark Reimert, 73, who is just three donations shy of reaching 150 gallons. Reimert donates platelets every two weeks \u2014 up to the annual maximum of 24 times \u2014 because they help more patients.<\/p>\n
![\"Mark](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/REG-L-BloodBankReopens1271.jpg\")
Mark Reimert, who is approaching 150 gallons of blood and blood products donated, watches during the grand reopening of the Miller-Keystone Blood Center, 2744A Leisczs Bridge Road, Bern Township, on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
\u201cWhole blood you can donate every eight weeks,\u201d he said. \u201cIt helps up to three patients. Platelets, you can donate every eight days, and it helps up to eight patients. So I\u2019m helping more people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reimert, a former mobile unit associate who once drove Miller Keystone vehicles to blood drive sites, likes the new look.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s much nicer,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s much more well-lit. It\u2019s more airy,\u201d<\/p>\n
A call to donate<\/p>\n
Nemeh urged attendees to encourage friends, neighbors and students to donate, noting that a single hour every eight weeks can help save multiple lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will be impacting families every time you donate blood,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery time you donate blood, you\u2019re impacting a human being, there\u2019s a cancer patient waiting for that blood, there\u2019s a trauma patient waiting for the blood, there\u2019s a premature baby waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n