LifeSaver Award Series: Cammie Rome, RN, Skagit Valley Hospital (Mount Vernon, Wash.)

Each month, LifeCenter Northwest selects a LifeSaver Award winner. This award honors and recognizes those who demonstrate a commitment to improving donation outcomes and culture through their actions, time, and energy.

We are pleased to present the LifeSaver Award to Cammie Rome, RN, of Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon, Wash. Cammie was nominated by LifeCenter Northwest staff in recognition of her special effort to initiate and implement an Honor Walk policy on behalf of staff, donors and their families.  

Cammie is known by her colleagues for the compassionate care and patient advocacy she provides each and every day. When she attended a learning opportunity on organ donation where a father of a donor shared his story with hospital staff, it got her thinking more about how to meaningfully honor donors and their families.

“Cammie proactively reached out to me about the necessary steps to create the policy,” says Tiffany McKellar, a LifeCenter Northwest hospital development program manager. “I have no doubt that donors and their families will be treated with the utmost respect and honor, in part because of Cammie’s hard work to get this policy finalized.”

Cammie, having never created an official hospital policy before, shared her motivation to move this effort forward with her management team.

“My last patient [and donor] I cared for, while the LifeCenter Northwest team was prepping, got a really good head to toe bath, where I washed and braided her hair, and gave her a new gown,” shared Cammie. “No matter her past history, or why she was here, this patient is a hero, and deserves to go to the operating room clean with a nice hairdo. I scrubbed her hands and feet and tucked her in, so she looked peaceful and comfortable for her final journey. A lot of times, these small acts are behind the scenes and do not seem like enough. What if we could do more?”

In addition to developing the official Honor Walk policy at Skagit Regional Hospital, Cammie continues to champion organ donation as an active participant of the Progressive and Critical Care Unit Based Council, driving conversations about hospital process improvements to save more lives through donation. She has been instrumental in reinforcing positive donation culture on the unit, taking it upon herself to educate nurses and students about their role as partners in the process.  

Through her passion for patient care and advocacy, Cammie has nurtured a supportive donation culture that will impact families and save more lives. LifeCenter Northwest is proud to honor Cammie with the LifeSaver Award!