Washington Regional Honored for Raising Awareness of Organ Donation
Washington Regional Medical Center recently achieved national recognition for efforts to increase organ, tissue and eye donor awareness as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) DoNation Campaign.
In partnership with ARORA, an accredited organ procurement nonprofit that serves most of Arkansas, Washington Regional earned Platinum recognition – the highest level possible. This is the fourth consecutive year Washington Regional has earned Platinum recognition.
In 2023, Washington Regional cared for 27 organ donors with 80 organs transplanted, which was the most organs transplanted of all hospitals in the ARORA donor service area. “Organ, eye and tissue donation restores lives, and Washington Regional is honored to be part of that,” said Washington Regional COO Birch Wright. “Washington Regional is proud to receive this recognition and is committed to increasing awareness of this lifesaving gift and growing the number of registered organ, eye and tissue donors in the communities we serve.”
The DoNation campaign connects HRSA and the organ donor community with hospitals nationwide to promote the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation and increase the number of registered donors. Washington Regional’s efforts to promote awareness included:
- Holding donor registry events
- Displaying donation information in public and employee areas
- Providing extensive education to team members about organ donation and the organ donor registry
- Holding a Tree of Life ceremony honoring organ and tissue donors
- Holding honor walks for organ donors
- Having an active organ donation committee
Since 2002, Washington Regional has been honored to care for 167 organ donors resulting in 455 life-saving organs transplanted.