|
For Immediate
Release
CONTACT:
Bryan
Stewart
(213)
229-5650
bstewart@onelegacy.org
Rivian
Bell or
Lisa Bernfeld,
JDI Communications
(213)
612-4929
or (888)
477-4329
(24/7),
rbell@jdipr.com
For Immediate
Release
Area
Organ
Donation
Up 18%
Through
September
 LOS ANGELES,
California,
October
19, 2006
– The
Department
of Health
and Human
Services
(HHS)
honored
a record
23 area
hospitals
for excellence
in organ
donation
at the
National
Learning
Congress
in New
Orleans,
Louisiana,
today.
The HHS
Medal
of Honor
is awarded
to hospitals
with at
least
eight
eligible
organ
donors
and which
have achieved
donation
rate of
at least
75% for
any consecutive
12-month
period
between
May 2004
and June
2006.
The awards,
which
are presented
in concert
with OneLegacy,
the nonprofit
organ
and tissue
recovery
agency
serving
the seven-county
greater
Los Angeles
area,
reflect
the success
of the
National
Organ
Donation
Breakthrough
Collaborative,
an HHS
initiative
launched
in 2003
to save
and enhance
thousands
of lives
annually
by spreading
best organ
donation
practices
to the
nation’s
largest
hospitals.
The national
initiative
provides
hospitals
and organ
procurement
organizations
with the
tools
and processes
needed
to dramatically
increase
organ
and tissue
donation
rates.
In the
Los Angeles
metropolitan
area,
organ
donation
is up
34% from
September
2003,
when the
Organ
Donation
Breakthrough
Collaborative
first
began.
“One of
the nation’s
most pressing
public
health
issues
is the
widening
gap between
the number
of organs
donated
for transplant
and the
number
of patients
on the
national
organ
transplant
waiting
list,”
said Tom
Mone,
chief
executive
officer
of OneLegacy.
“Currently,
93,000
people
across
the country
and nearly
20,000
in California
are waiting
for an
organ
transplant.”
Because
of the
Organ
Donation & Transplantation
Breakthrough
Collaborative
and efforts
to improve
organ
donation
rates
throughout
Southern
California
and across
the country,
the following
area hospitals
achieved
Medal
of Honor
status:
California
Hospital
Medical
Center,
Los Angeles
Children’s
Hospital
of Orange
County,
Orange
Citrus
Valley
Medical
Center,
West Covina
Henry
Mayo Newhall
Memorial
Hospital,
Valencia
Hoag Memorial
Hospital
Presbyterian,
Newport
Beach
Kaiser
Permanente
Anaheim
Medical
Center
Kaiser
Permanente
Woodland
Hills
Medical
Center
Memorial
Hospital
of Gardena
Mission
Hospital,
Mission
Viejo
Northridge
Hospital
Medical
Center
- Roscoe
Pomona
Valley
Hospital
Medical
Center,
Pomona
Presbyterian
Intercommunity
Hospital,
Whittier
Providence
Holy Cross
Medical
Center,
Mission
Hills
Providence
Saint
Joseph
Medical
Center,
Burbank
Riverside
Community
Hospital
Santa
Barbara
Cottage
Hospital
UCI Medical
Center,
Orange
UCLA Medical
Center
USC University
Hospital,
Los Angeles
Western
Medical
Center
Santa
Ana
“We’re
proud
of the
number
of hospitals
in our
service
area
that
earned
this
award,
and
of
how
our
collaborative
effort
has
such
a meaningful
impact
on the
lives
of donor
families
and
recipients
alike,”
said
Mr.
Mone.
“We
will
continue
to focus
our
effort
on hospitals,
transplant
centers
and
the
Donate
Life
California
Organ & Tissue
Donor
Registry
as we
work
toward
our
ultimate
goal
of ending
the
wait
for
all
people
awaiting
organ
transplants.”
Throughout
the seven-county
area,
deceased
donation
has increased
18% in
the first
nine months
this year,
and OneLegacy
is headed
for its
seventh
consecutive
year of
all-time
highs
in organ
donors
and organs
recovered
for life-saving
transplant.
Since
1977,
OneLegacy
has served
as the
bridge
between
donors
and patients
awaiting
life-saving
transplants.
OneLegacy
serves
19 million
residents
in the
seven-county
greater
Los Angeles
area and
is the
primary
source
of information
regarding
organ
and tissue
donation
and transplantation
in Southern
California.
Those
wishing
to make
the commitment
to donate
may register
online
at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org or its
Spanish-language
counterpart,
www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org.
For more
information,
call OneLegacy
at (800)
786-4077
or visit
www.onelegacy.org. |
