SGMC’s Berrien and Lanier Campus Recognized Nationally for Promoting Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation

South Georgia Medical Center’s Lanier and Berrien Campuses were among a select group of hospitals nationwide recognized for promoting enrollment in state organ donor registries in a national Workplace Partnership for Life Hospital Campaign, sponsored by the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration. Since 2011 the campaign has added 400,000 donor enrollments nationwide.Berrien and Lanier campuses conducted awareness and registration events and messaging 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 registered donors. Participating hospitals earned points for each activity implemented between May 2015 and April 2016 and earned award levels platinum, gold, silver or bronze depending on how many points they accumulated. Both campuses were awarded platinum recognition for their efforts during this year’s campaign. Throughout the country, 995 hospitals and transplant centers participated, and 281 platinum, 147 gold, 287 silver, or 207 bronze awards have been achieved. Of those, 54 are Georgia hospitals.“SGMC Lanier and Berrien Campuses are great champions for organ, eye, and tissue donation. We are proud of their accomplishment and applaud them for making a difference in the lives of the more than 5,600 Georgians that are currently waiting for transplant,” says Michelle Burkett, Hospital Development Liaison with LifeLink of Georgia. “It is because these professionals’ unyielding dedication to saving lives that we commend their achievements.” The need for organ and tissue donation is real. Every 11 minutes another person is added to the national transplant waiting list that currently has over 123,000 people and sadly, approximately 22 people die daily because of the organ shortage. To register your decision to be an organ, tissue and eye donor visit Donate Life Georgia’s Organ and Tissue Donor Registry at www.donatelifegeorgia.org or call 1-866-57-SHARE (74273), or say YES to donation when you get or renew your driver license or state identification card through Georgia’s Department of Driver Services.For more information about organ and tissue donation in Georgia visit LifeLink at www.LifeLinkFoundation.org. Pictured: Michelle Burkett, RN, LifeLink of Georgia; Jan Myers, Administrative Director for Nursing at Berrien & Lanier; Selina Livingston, RN, Director of Nursing for Berrien & Lanier; Keri Hodges, RT, Imaging Manager for Berrien & Lanier; Tammy Stone, RN, Director of Quality Improvement for Berrien & Lanier and Toni Quimby, RN, Director of Quality Improvement for the South GA Health System.