Halifax Health – Medical Center of Daytona Beach is among a select group of hospitals nationwide recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for achievement by conducting activities that promoted enrollment in state organ donor registries.
HalifaxHealthMedicalCenter and other hospital honorees were active participants in phase IV of the national Workplace Partnership for Life (WPFL) Hospital Campaign which challenges hospitals to partner with their local donation programs – such as TransLife in Central Florida – to educate employees and the surrounding communities about the crucial need for organ, eye and tissue donation.
“We are proud to be recognized for our efforts to raise local awareness on the importance of organ donation. Hopefully this leads to an increase in enrollment in Florida’s organ donor registries, which will allow more lives to be saved,” explains Michael Mulrooney, manager of Halifax Health – Center for Transplant Services.
Nearly 1,700 hospitals are actively enrolled, representing a 29 percent increase in participation over the previous campaign period. Enrollees garner points for the number and types of activities used to spread a vital message to donate life. Halifax Health earned gold level status by HHS for an array of events that occurred between August 1, 2014 and April 30, 2015. There were only 14 hospitals in the state earning such high scores.
“Halifax Health has done an extraordinary job of carrying the torch that has been lit by this campaign and ensuring opportunities for thousands of people to learn more about organ, tissue and eye donation,” says David Destefano, TransLife executive director. “We have found that most people want very much to help, but simply lack the information of how to sign up to be an organ and tissue donor.”
Hospitals can be a catalyst for linking health care information to the public and that is precisely what the WPFL Hospital Campaign is striving to accomplish. The educational events and activities for which Halifax Health Medical Center was recognized included hosting a donor registry enrollment event, conducting a Donate Life Flag Raising event, enlisting hospital volunteers in organ donation activities, displaying Donate Life Month posters, utilizing a web banner and link to Florida’s online registry, engaging employees in National Blue and Green Day, using social media to promote the donor registry, sponsoring an awareness walk, presenting Donate Life Month information at department meetings, inviting guest speakers to share their transplant and donation stories in a public venue, and publishing donation articles in the employee newsletter.
More than 350,000 donor enrollments on state donor registries have been stimulated by the WPFL Hospital Campaign since it was launched in June 2011 with the support of the American Hospital Association and numerous other national partners. Visit Florida’s online donor registry at donatelifeflorida.org to learn more about organ, tissue and eye donation.
For more information on Halifax Health – Center for Transplant Services, visit halifaxhealth.org/transplant.
