Jennifer Moe
Director of Communications/PR
Donor Alliance
303-329-4747
HOSPITALS IN COLORADO AND WYOMING RECOGNIZED FOR HIGH ORGAN DONATION RATES
Donor Alliance wins crystal award
DENVER – October 12, 2007 – The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) honored 10 Colorado and Wyoming hospitals for excellence in organ donation at the National Learning Congress in Nashville, earlier this week. The HHS Medal of Honor is awarded to hospitals that have been able to sustain a donation rate of 75 percent or more for at least a year and have had at least eight potential organ donors. Hospitals in Colorado and Wyoming honored were among 392 winning hospitals nationally that accepted awards, meeting eligibility criteria.
Donor Alliance, Colorado’s organ procurement organization, also received a crystal award for reaching a 75 percent service area wide donation rate.
The awards reflect the success of the National Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative. This HHS initiative was launched in 2003 in an effort to save thousands of lives by bringing together donation professionals and hospital leaders to identify and share best practices among the nation's largest hospitals. Today, the Breakthrough Collaborative continues to be the single most successful initiative to increase donation in the United States.
The following Colorado and Wyoming hospitals achieved Medal of Honor status, including two hospitals in Colorado Springs who were recognized for the first time:
• The Children’s Hospital
• Denver Health Medical Center
• The Medical Center of Aurora
• Memorial Hospital
• Penrose Main Hospital
• Poudre Valley Hospital
• St. Anthony Central
• St. Mary’s Medical Center
• Swedish Medical Center
• Wyoming Medical Center
These award winning hospitals have contributed to the success of the Breakthrough Collaborative with a total of 590 organs transplanted over the past 26 months.
“We continue to be encouraged by the number of Colorado and Wyoming hospitals that earn this award, demonstrating their willingness to make transplantation a top priority,” said Sue Dunn, president and CEO of Donor Alliance. “Both states have had high donation rates due to the work of our hospitals. We will continue to excel through collaborative initiatives with hospitals, transplant centers and state donor registries in Colorado and Wyoming, working toward our ultimate goal of ending the wait for lifesaving organ transplants.”
We are pleased to announce the creation of Colorado’s new specialty Donate Life license plate. CLICK HERE.
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