Baystate Mary Lane Hospital Recognized for Organ-donation Promotion

WARE — Baystate Mary Lane Hospital is among a select group of hospitals and transplant centers nationwide recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for reaching gold level of achievement by conducting activities that promoted enrollment in state organ-donor registries. The hospitals are part of the national Workplace Partnership for Life (WPFL) Hospital Campaign, sponsored by HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Baystate Mary Lane’s awareness and registry campaigns educated staff, patients, visitors, and community members on the critical need for organ, eye, and tissue donors, increasing the number of potential donors on the state’s donor registry. The hospital earned points for each activity implemented during Phase IV of the campaign, between Aug. 1, 2014, and April 30, 2015, and was awarded Gold recognition by HRSA.

Of the 1,658 hospitals and transplant centers enrolled in the campaign, 736 were awarded recognition during this phase of the campaign. These numbers represent a 29{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} increase in enrollment and a 56{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} increase in recognition over Phase III, and, according to HRSA, are “a tribute to the work that so many have dedicated to this effort. Most important, since launching in 2011, the campaign has added more than 350,000 donor enrollments to state registries around the country, far surpassing the original goal of 300,000.”

Added Lisa Beaudry, regional vice president and chief nursing officer for the Baystate Health Eastern Region, “we are grateful to be recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services for our commitment to saving lives through organ donation. This award is a reflection of the collaborative efforts, led by Kimberly Hoy-Kennedy, nursing education coordinator, and our staff to increase education and understanding of the organ-donation process with our patients and our community members. We hope that, by being recognized for this award, we can continue to create awareness about the ongoing need for organ donation.”

This campaign is an effort of HRSA’s Workplace Partnership for Life to mobilize the nation’s hospitals to increase the number of people in the country who are registered organ, eye, and tissue donors. The campaign unites donation advocates at hospitals with representatives from their organ-procurement organizations, Donate Life America state teams, and state hospital associations. Working together, the teams leverage their communications resources and outreach efforts to most effectively spread word of the critical need for donors.