At the fourth National Learning Congress on Donation and Transplantation recently held in Nashville, Tenn., Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center received the 2008 Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Medal of Honor for excellence in family care and for achieving an outstanding rate of organ donation. Seventy-five percent of nonrecoverable patients donated organs in a 12-month period.
“It is an honor to receive national recognition for our dedication and commitment to saving lives,” said Sandralee Blosser, director of adult critical care. “This award is a reflection of the collaborative efforts of our team who support patients and families through the process of organ donation. In the midst of tragedy, organ donation provides opportunities to restore life to others, and it is dependent on the generosity of families during a time of grief. We have seen firsthand how patients benefit from organ donation.”
The Medical Center was one of 19 hospitals in eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware that are part of Gift of Life’s organ procurement region to earn this recognition.
According to Gift of Life, there were nearly 4,000 additional life-saving transplants performed in the United States last year. Today, there are more than 5,600 patients in the Gift of Life region awaiting organ transplantation.