Hancock County Memorial Hospital
HCMH Receives Iowa Donor Network Award
On May 28, the Iowa Donor Network (IDN) visited Hancock County Memorial Hospital to present the staff with an award for achieving a 100% tissue consent rate in 2008. Awards were given to hospitals with a consent rate of 50% and above. Meg Morris, Donation Services Coordinator for IDN was on hand to present the award and congratulate the staff.
“This means that two patients were eligible to be tissue donors and both became tissue donors,” said Morris.
Information from the IDN shows that there are now more than 100,000 people in the United States waiting for lifesaving organ transplants. A million more suffer from blindness, medical conditions or devastating injuries that can be successfully treated with donated tissue or corneas.
“We were honored to receive the award,” said Bonnie Wilhite, HCMH Emergency Room Director. “Everyone is likely to have a neighbor, a friend or even a family member who has been or who will be affected by organ or tissue donation.”
Last year more than 28,000 lives were saved through transplanted organs. These were necessary because no other medical treatment offered the possibility of recovery from organ failure. Similarly, tissue transplants are often a necessary part of medical treatment for a multitude of diseases and injuries, including bone fracture, ligament repair and heart surgery. More than one million life-enhancing tissue transplants are performed each year, offering patients a new chance at healthy, productive and normal lives. Tissues from one donor can sometimes improve the lives of 50 people or more.
Morris presented the award to hospital nursing staff and explained the artwork included on the plaque is from Rachel Ball, a 19 year-old artist who received a heart transplant in 2005. In the center of the painting, two hearts represent the two families joined together through the gift of life. The background of the painting, showing night and day, depicts the dedicated doctors and nurses who are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help save lives.
Transplant science has advanced in recent years, providing tremendous promise to the thousands in need. Today, there is some form of donor registry in every state and a high level of interest by the American public in donation. Iowa Donor Network registry shows that 659,278 Iowans currently have registered as donors. For more information on becoming an organ donor, visit the IDN’s website at iowadonornetwork.org.
Meg Morris, (far left) Donation Services Coordinator for the Iowa Donor Network presented an award for tissue donation consent rates
to the Hancock County Memorial Hospital nursing staff and Administrator/CEO, Vance Jackson, (far right).