Three Carle Health hospitals have been honored at the federal level for organ donation awareness initiatives.
Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Carle Health Methodist Hospital in Peoria and Carle BroMenn Medical Center in Normal received 2023-2024 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) DoNation campaign recognition.
DoNation is a nationwide HRSA initiative to educate communities about the need for organ, eye and tissue donation and to encourage people to register to be organ and tissue donors. More than 100,000 Americans are awaiting lifesaving transplants, according to the Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network.
Carle Health clinical team members work with Gift of Hope donation liaisons to coordinate organ and tissue donations.
Carle Health hospitals participating in DoNation received the following honors:
“We have worked diligently to create an interdisciplinary approach to the donation process,” Ziegler said. “This includes a team of direct care staff and leaders from across the organization who are, in some way, touched by donations. Those involved share stories of impact, discuss donation data and case reviews, and plan Gift of Hope awareness activities. In addition, a beautiful Tree of Life is in the lobby of CFH, with each leaf engraved in honor of an organ donor.”
Hospitals apply to participate in the campaign and share their work to raise awareness about organ donation. They receive points based on hospital events and initiatives throughout the campaign year, such as staff education, honor walks (when hospital staff lines a hallway as a donor moves to the operating room), raising the Gift of Hope flag when a donation happens, donation registration drives, social media campaigns and ceremonies during April (National Donate Life Month).
Hospitals with the most points receive a platinum award, followed by gold, silver and bronze.
At Carle Health Methodist, Renee Brown, BSN, RN, CCRN-CMC, CSC, manager of critical care for the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit and Surgical Intensive Care Unit, said Methodist was “thrilled” to reach platinum status.
“We have been strong supporters of facilitating the gift of life to support our families during a difficult time,” Brown said. “Last year, our surgical and critical care staff came together during April, making posters with a QR code for the donor registration site, signs, free popcorn and a bake sale with proceeds going to Gift of Hope.
“We are so excited and will continue to support all the efforts to better lives,” Brown said.
At Carle BroMenn, Stacy Barclay, MSN, RN, manager of nursing operations, said, “It is an honor for BroMenn to receive gold recognition status. The gift of hope is an important piece of the work we do here. We want to ensure we can help as many people as possible to save or better their lives through organ and tissue donation. Our teams are dedicated and compassionate. This past year, we have focused on our honor walks and flag-raising ceremonies for our donor families. We recognize how hard this is for families and that they need support. We hosted our annual flag-raising ceremony for National Donate Life Month in April and have hosted organ donation registration booths. It is a true honor to be an active member of our Gift of Hope donation committee. We are blessed to work with a great team.”
To register as an organ and tissue donor, click here.
Interested in joining a team that works together to honor the wishes of patients and families? Click here.
Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Carle Health Methodist Hospital in Peoria and Carle BroMenn Medical Center in Normal received 2023-2024 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) DoNation campaign recognition.
DoNation is a nationwide HRSA initiative to educate communities about the need for organ, eye and tissue donation and to encourage people to register to be organ and tissue donors. More than 100,000 Americans are awaiting lifesaving transplants, according to the Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network.
Carle Health clinical team members work with Gift of Hope donation liaisons to coordinate organ and tissue donations.
Carle Health hospitals participating in DoNation received the following honors:
- Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana, retained its platinum recognition.
- Carle Health Methodist Hospital, Peoria, jumped from silver to platinum recognition.
- Carle BroMenn Medical Center, Normal, improved from silver to gold status.
“We have worked diligently to create an interdisciplinary approach to the donation process,” Ziegler said. “This includes a team of direct care staff and leaders from across the organization who are, in some way, touched by donations. Those involved share stories of impact, discuss donation data and case reviews, and plan Gift of Hope awareness activities. In addition, a beautiful Tree of Life is in the lobby of CFH, with each leaf engraved in honor of an organ donor.”
Hospitals apply to participate in the campaign and share their work to raise awareness about organ donation. They receive points based on hospital events and initiatives throughout the campaign year, such as staff education, honor walks (when hospital staff lines a hallway as a donor moves to the operating room), raising the Gift of Hope flag when a donation happens, donation registration drives, social media campaigns and ceremonies during April (National Donate Life Month).
Hospitals with the most points receive a platinum award, followed by gold, silver and bronze.
At Carle Health Methodist, Renee Brown, BSN, RN, CCRN-CMC, CSC, manager of critical care for the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit and Surgical Intensive Care Unit, said Methodist was “thrilled” to reach platinum status.
“We have been strong supporters of facilitating the gift of life to support our families during a difficult time,” Brown said. “Last year, our surgical and critical care staff came together during April, making posters with a QR code for the donor registration site, signs, free popcorn and a bake sale with proceeds going to Gift of Hope.
“We are so excited and will continue to support all the efforts to better lives,” Brown said.
At Carle BroMenn, Stacy Barclay, MSN, RN, manager of nursing operations, said, “It is an honor for BroMenn to receive gold recognition status. The gift of hope is an important piece of the work we do here. We want to ensure we can help as many people as possible to save or better their lives through organ and tissue donation. Our teams are dedicated and compassionate. This past year, we have focused on our honor walks and flag-raising ceremonies for our donor families. We recognize how hard this is for families and that they need support. We hosted our annual flag-raising ceremony for National Donate Life Month in April and have hosted organ donation registration booths. It is a true honor to be an active member of our Gift of Hope donation committee. We are blessed to work with a great team.”
To register as an organ and tissue donor, click here.
Interested in joining a team that works together to honor the wishes of patients and families? Click here.
Categories: Community
Tags: BroMenn, CFH, donate, donation, gift, hope, hospitals, HRSA, life, Methodist, organ, transplant