Organ donor advocacy group honors nine local hospitals for donation support

THE WORKPLACE PARNTERSHIP FOR LIFE has recognized nine local hospitals for their support of organ and tissue donation recruitment efforts.

PROVIDENCE —The Workplace Partnership for Life has recognized nine local hospitals for their efforts supporting enrollment in organ and tissue donation registries.

The organization, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration, is a national initiative connecting the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the organ donation community with workplaces throughout the nation to spread the word about the importance of donation.

Rhode Island Hospital won a platinum award from the WPL for their efforts. Newport and The Miriam Hospital and Roger Williams Medical Center were each presented with silver awards.

At Roger Williams Medical Center, outreach efforts included hosting organ donation awareness events at Roger Williams, posting about it on hospital social media and internal publications, and putting up posters around the hospital, said Brett Davey, spokesman for CharterCARE, which owns the hospital.

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“To achieve this distinction, Roger Williams conducted awareness campaigns to educate staff, patients, visitors, and community members about the critical need for organ, eye, and tissue donors and, by doing so, increased the number of potential donors on the state’s donor registry,” said Davey.

Kent Hospital, Landmark Medical Center, Providence VA Medical Center, Women & Infants Hospital and Westerly Hospital were all recognized with bronze awards for their respective efforts promoting organ and tissue donation. Kent’s efforts focused on education, awareness, social media promotion and recruitment, according to the hospital.

Westerly Hosptial’s organ donor support included an information table in the hospital’s main lobby and staffed by Anna Pelchat, LICSW, from the hospital’s case management department during April’s Donate Life month, and the hospital also held an organ donor and tissue drive, according to the hospital.

The hospitals are among more than 13,000 businesses that have joined as “workplace partners,” helping to register more than one million people in the United States as organ and tissue donors. Their shared goal is promoting a “donation-friendly America” by fostering organ donation education and creating opportunities for individuals to sign up to save lives.

“We are honored to be recognized for our efforts to help expand the number of willing organ donors and increase the gift of life to more patients in our community,” said Mabel Payne, Westerly Hospital’s organ donation advocate.

Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Borkowski@PBN.com.

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