SGMC Campuses Recognized for Promoting Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation

11/12/2018

South Georgia Medical Center and its campuses were among a select group of hospitals nationwide recognized for promoting enrollment in state organ donor registries in a national campaign, the Workplace Partnership for Life (WPFL) Hospital Campaign, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

SGMC conducted awareness and registration campaigns to educate staff, patients, visitors and community members about the critical need for organ, eye and tissue donors and, by doing so, increased the number of potential donors on Georgia’s Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. Participating hospitals earned points for each activity implemented between October 2017 and April 2018 and earned award levels platinum, gold, silver or bronze depending on how many points they accumulated. SGMC was awarded the platinum recognition for outstanding efforts during this year’s Workplace Partnership for Life Hospital Campaign.

Throughout the country, more than 1,200 hospitals and transplant centers participated in the campaign, and 468 platinum, 176 gold, 360 silver and 244 bronze awards were achieved. Of those, 72 are Georgia hospitals. See the full list of recognized hospitals here. Georgia ranked 4th among other states with the number of hospitals receiving an award; with only Pennsylvania, California and Florida acquiring more awards. 

“SGMC is a great champion for organ, eye, and tissue donation. We are proud of this accomplishment and applaud SGMC for making a difference in the lives of the more than 5,200 Georgians that are currently waiting for transplant,” says Michelle Burkett, Hospital Development Liaison with LifeLink of Georgia. “It is because of these professionals’ unyielding dedication to saving lives that we applaud their achievements.”

The need for organ and tissue donation is real. Every 11 minutes another person is added to the national transplant waiting list that currently lists over 114,000 people and sadly, approximately 22 people die daily because of the organ shortage. To register your decision to be an organ, tissue and eye donor visit Donate Life Georgia’s Organ and Tissue Donor Registry at www.DonateLifeGeorgia.org or call 1-866-57-SHARE (74273), or say YES to donation when you get or renew your driver license or state identification card through Georgia’s Department of Driver Services.

For more information about organ and tissue donation in Georgia visit LifeLink® at www.LifeLinkFoundation.org. For information about the Workplace Partnership for Life Hospital Campaign, visit http://organdonor.gov/howhelp/hospitalcampaign.html.

South Georgia Medical Center’s Manager of Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Toni Quimby, Interim CEO Bill Forbes, COO David Schott, LifeLink of Georgia Hospital Development Liaison Michelle Burkett, and Director of Community Relations Laura Love display certificates honoring SGMC’s campuses with platinum recognition for promoting enrollment in Georgia organ donor registries.