LifeSavers Series: PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center

At LifeCenter Northwest (LCNW), collaborating with local hospitals and medical centers is an essential part of fulfilling our mission of working together to save lives through organ and tissue donation. These partnerships literally make donation possible. From individual patient care to coordination and communication between various medical teams, we are dependent on our colleagues within the hospital to help facilitate the gift of life, and serve the communities in our region. The importance of these relationships cannot be stressed enough, and here at LCNW we want to recognize our amazing donation partners for all their hard work. In an effort to do this, we are introducing the LifeCenter Northwest LifeSaver Award, presented monthly, to honor those who have made outstanding efforts to collaborate with LCNW. Recipients demonstrate a commitment to improving donation outcomes by providing time, energy, and expertise to ensure the best possible donation program at their hospital.

We are pleased to announce that the inaugural LifeSavers Certificate winner is PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, WA! Over the past year, PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s has put forth significant efforts to strengthen organ and tissue donation in their hospital system.
Leadership is invested in collaborating with LCNW to maximize the benefits of the partnership. Part of this effort is the implementation of a donation council. This development is a demonstration of the investment that hospital leadership at PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s has to the donation community, which includes community outreach outside of the hospital. This council ensures staff receives a comprehensive and continuous understanding of donation processes and debriefs all organ and tissue recoveries that occur at the hospital.

“The best outcomes regarding organ and tissue donation happen when there is a strong partnership between hospital partners and LifeCenter Northwest,” said Amy Wilcox, LCNW Hospital Development Program Manager at PeaceHealth. “The culture surrounding donation at PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s is remarkable. The staff recognizes the importance of donation and how it affects the community. Our relationship has grown stronger on every level from big picture ideas to each of the individuals we interact with.”

Strong interdepartmental communication, especially between the intensive care unit, emergency department, and operating room staff has also resulted in positive donation outcomes and improved relationships among hospital staff. Additionally, PeaceHealth Director of Risk Management, Grace Gordon was awarded at the 2015 Donation Champion Award the UNOS Region 6 Spring Educational Forum held in Seattle last March.

We want to thank PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center for their steadfast work in improving and promoting organ and tissue donation within their hospital and community. We look forward to a continuing relationship as we work to save lives through organ and tissue donation.