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University Hospital to receive award for organ donor program University Hospital’s organ donor program will receive the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 2007 Medal of Honor for Organ Donation at an award ceremony Wednesday, Oct. 10 in Nashville, Tenn. The award will be presented to 368 of the nation’s largest hospitals for substantially raising the organ donation rates of eligible donors from their facilities to 75 percent or more over a 12 month period. More than 95,000 people in the United States are currently waiting for an organ transplant. However the number of available transplantable organs is well below the amount needed due to a lack of organ donation by those who would qualify. In 2002, for example, less than half of an estimated 14,000 potential donors donated organs. As a result, on average, 17 people on the transplantation waiting list die each day. In response to the national shortage of transplantable organs, University Hospital joined the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative in 2004. The collaborative is intended to dramatically increase access to transplantable organs through a strong relationship between hospitals and organ procurement organizations in order to identify more eligible organ donors, honor donation intentions as directed by the donor or donor’s family and implementing procedures to transfer organs to waiting recipients. “The collaborative is an aggressive program designed to assist our team to identify and implement the best practices known to produce high donation rates,” said Christina Vollrath, R.N., interim manager of the George David Peak Memorial Burn Care Center and collaborative team member. “As a result of this effort, University Hospital’s donation rate increased from 61 percent in 2005 to 83 percent in 2006, and we are currently above 75 percent for 2007.” Midwest Transplant Network partners with University Hospital to provide the best organ and tissue donation services to the community. Together they have built donation collaborative teams with members of both institutions. They strive to set goals, focus on education, perform more accurate data analysis and identify methods to consistently improve and maintain the donation services available to mid-Missourians. “University Hospital’s donor program is very successful,” said Lori Kramer Clark, hospital services coordinator for Midwest Transplant Network. “One of the most pressing public health issue we as a nation face today is the disparity between available transplantable organs and those in need. I feel that the increase in conversion rates we are experiencing here is a direct result of our efforts with the breakthrough collaborative that we started in 2004.” University Hospital and Midwest Transplant Network were also recognized in 2006 by the Department of Health and Human Services with the Medal of Honor for Organ Donation award. University Hospital was one of 14 of Missouri’s largest hospitals and the only hospital in central Missouri to receive the award last year. In 2005, the Missouri Hospital Association presented University Hospital the association’s Donate Life Award for organ procurement efforts. Midwest Transplant Network is an organ procurement organization. Founded in 1973, its mission is to provide quality transplantation-related services that will maximize the availability of organs and tissues to the community. The not-for-profit corporation serves Kansas and the Western two-thirds of Missouri. University Hospital and Clinics, a part of the University of Missouri Health Care system, serves patients from every county in Missouri. The 260-bed hospital specializes in treating the most severe illnesses and injuries, offering the only Level I trauma center in mid-Missouri, intensive care units and highly specialized medical and surgical services. |
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