December 6, 2006
Marquette General Hospital recognized
for organ donation
Marquette General Hospital has received a Medal
of Honor for Organ Donation from the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) for substantially raising the rate of
organ donation from eligible donors.
Marquette
General ICU nurses Mike Murvich, left, and Amy St. Amour, right,
accepted the Medal of Honor for Organ Donation on behalf of Marquette
General Hospital from the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services recently in New Orleans. Also pictured representing the
ICU nursing staff active in the organ procurement program is ICU
nurse Trish Bough, center. Marquette General was recognized for
its work with educating the families of potential organ donors
and securing their consent for organ donation when a loved one’s
life cannot be saved. (MGHS photo)
The award was presented recently during the Second National Learning
Congress on Organ Donation and Transplantation in New Orleans.
Marquette general and its partnering organ procurement organization
(OPO), the University of Wisconsin Madison, were co-recipients
of the award. OPOs coordinate organ procurement in designated
service areas, work to preserve organs, and arrange for their
distribution according to national policies.
According to Gail Brandly, organ donation liaison and nursing
supervisor at Marquette General, the hospitals being honored had
to achieve and sustain an organ donation rate of 75 percent or
more from among eligible donors for the entire year. Marquette
General Hospital’s organ procurement rate for 2005 was 92
percent, an increase of 14 percent over the prior year.
“The results of our efforts to encourage organ donation
were emphasized this past summer when an organ recipient traveled
to Marquette specifically to thank the staff members in ICU, the
trauma center and the emergency department who cared for the young
man who became the donor,” Brandly said. “He and his
family also had the opportunity to meet the family of the donor,
and it was very emotional for all of us.
“Organ
donors and their families are heroes,” Brandly said. “At
the darkest moment of their lives, donor families have the courage
and strength of character to give the Gift of Life and save people
they’ve never met. This is the definition of heroism.”
Brandly emphasized that the staff at Marquette General are committed
to saving lives. However, in situations where the injuries are
too extensive, the option for organ and tissue donation can provide
a degree of comfort.
“We provide support to these families and facilitate organ
donation,” Brandly said. “The process is emotionally
exhausting but it provides the opportunity for something good
to come out of a tragic situation. Not only are the lives of the
donor recipients saved, but the donor’s family is also helped
through the grieving process.”
Brandly said the success of organ donation efforts is only attainable
with sustained teamwork among the staff from ICU, the Emergency
Department, hospital supervisors, pastoral care, social work,
and numerous others who support and take care of the whole family
as well as the patient.
Karen MacLachlan, MGHS assistant administrator for patient services,
said, “I’m very proud of the professionalism and the
compassion of our ICU nurses as they help families through tragic
losses. This Medal of Honor really belongs to these nurses, and
to the heroic families who choose to give life to others.”
For anyone interested in organ donation, Brandly emphasized the
importance of communicating their wishes to loved ones, marking
the back of their drivers license, and including organ donation
in an Advanced Directive or Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare.
Nationwide, there were 371 Medal of Honor hospitals selected from
a pool of 787 hospitals that met eligibility criteria. Hospitals
and OPOs were cited for achieving and sustaining a donation rate
of 75 percent or more of eligible donors. By contrast, the national
average donation rate in all hospitals was 59 percent in 2005,
up from 55 percent in 2004.
For information on organ donation, visit the Marquette
General Hospital website at http://www.giftoflifemichigan.org/RegistryCard.Asp.
Community presentations on organ donation are also available by
contacting the Marquette General Hospital Nursing Office at 906-225-3460
or 1-800-562-9753, extension 3460.
