MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Seven WVU Medicine hospitals were recently recognized for their participation in the Donate Life West Virginia Hospital Challenge, a collaboration between the West Virginia Hospital Association and Donate Life West Virginia to encourage hospitals throughout the state to bring awareness to the importance of organ, tissue, and cornea donation.
The Donate Life West Virginia Hospital Challenge campaign is designed to cultivate a hospital culture that incorporates educating and registering potential donors as part of the hospital’s standard mission.
The campaign ran from October 2016 to April 2017. Each participating hospital received points for organizing donor registry enrollment events and education opportunities within their hospital and community, including National Volunteer Blood Donor Month in January, National Donor Day in February, National Eye Donor Month in March, and National Donate Life Month and National Blue and Green Day in April. Hospitals received Bronze Awards for obtaining more than 200 points, Silver Awards for more than 350 points, Gold Awards for more than 750 points, and Platinum Awards for more than 1,000 points.
The WVU Medicine hospitals receiving recognition were:
- Berkeley Medical Center – Silver
- Camden Clark Medical Center – Platinum
- Jefferson Medical Center – Silver
- J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital – Platinum
- Reynolds Memorial Hospital – Gold
- St. Joseph’s Hospital – Bronze
- United Hospital Center – Platinum
“We are honored to have so many of our system hospitals recognized for their efforts in the critically important work of raising awareness of organ donation,” Albert L. Wright, Jr., president and CEO of the WVU Medicine-West Virginia University Health System, said. “We extend our appreciation to the West Virginia Hospital Association and Donate Life West Virginia for presenting us with these awards, and we extend a special thanks to all of our employees who helped us attain them.”
The Hospital Challenge was launched June 29, 2011, as a special effort of the national Workplace Partnership for Life (WPFL), an initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. More than 12,000 companies and organizations are partners in WPFL and are committed to building awareness of the critical need for organ, eye, and tissue donation registrations. This awareness is vital because more than 116,000 people in the United States are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant.