BFMC Recognized for Promoting Organ, Eye, and Tissue Donation

GREENFIELD — Baystate Franklin Medical Center (BFMC) is among a select group of hospitals nationwide recognized for promoting enrollment in state organ-donor registries in a national campaign sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The campaign has added 400,000 donor enrollments to state registries nationwide since 2011.

Baystate Franklin conducted awareness and registry 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 the state’s donor registry. The hospital earned points for each activity implemented between May 2015 and April 2016 and was awarded Platinum recognition through the HRSA Workplace Partnership for Life Hospital Campaign.

Of the 995 hospitals and transplant centers participating in the campaign nationwide, 281 hospitals were awarded platinum recognition during this phase of the campaign. Baystate Franklin Medical Center, Baystate Medical Center, and UMass Memorial Medical Center – University Campus were the only three hospitals in Massachusetts receiving platinum recognition.

In receiving the award, Kayte Bak, BFMC’s Professional Practice and Development coordinator, noted that “we are certainly honored to have received platinum recognition this year. What it’s really about, though, are the patients and their loved ones who are able to benefit from this program. The effect from one tissue donor is enormous; it can benefit 50 other people. We have had success at Baystate Franklin because the people on the front line — nurses, social workers — are aware of the tissue-donor program and are committed to making information available to family members whenever appropriate.”

This campaign is a special 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 and, ultimately, the number of organs available for transplant. The campaign unites donation advocates at hospitals with representatives from their local organ-procurement organizations, Donate Life America affiliates, and state and regional hospital associations. Working together, the teams leverage their communications resources and outreach efforts to most effectively spread word of the critical need for donors.

Baystate Franklin worked closely with LifeChoice Donor Services during the campaign to establish means to educate staff, patients, visitors, and community members on the critical need for organ, eye, and tissue donors, thereby increasing the number of potential donors on the state’s donor registry.

“Working with Kayte Bak and her colleagues at Baystate Franklin Medical Center has been a truly rewarding experience,” said Wendy Fitt, in-house donation coordinator for LifeChoice Donor Services. “We are fortunate to collaborate with such a committed staff for the common goal of saving lives through organ and tissue donation. Their work in promoting the donor registry and hosting donation-related events has moved Baystate Franklin from gold recognition in 2015 to platinum in 2016.”