Boone Memorial Health Holds Flag Raising Ceremony to Celebrate National Donate Life Month

Nationally, more than 100,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant, including 2,500 people in western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. At least 20 will die each day without receiving the transplant they so desperately need. Someone is added to the transplant waiting list every 10 minutes.

Boone Memorial Health (BMH) held a Flag Raising Ceremony on Tuesday, April 18 to raise awareness about organ, tissue, and cornea donation. BMH joined the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) to inspire everyone during Donate Life Month to register to be an organ donor. Speakers included Colleen Sullivan, CORE Director of Public Affairs and Donor Family Service; Beth McCarthy, two-time double lung transplant recipient, and Heather Robinson, PA in honor of the late Ron Jones - a renal transplant recipient and CORE champion.

“National Donate Life Month is a time when we recognize the power of organ, tissue, and cornea donation to save and heal lives; affirm the partnerships between CORE and the hospitals we serve throughout western Pennsylvania and West Virginia that made possible nearly 900 life-saving organ transplants in 2022; and mobilize and inspire our local communities to register as donors,” said Susan Stuart, President & CEO of CORE. “Most importantly though, National Donate Life Month is a time when we honor the generous donors and donor families whose decision to give the gift of life has provided hope and healing to so many in our community.”

“As a health system, we are uniquely positioned to not only tend to the health of our patients, but to inspire our community to be mindful of wellness in all aspects of life,” said Virgil Underwood, BMH Chief Executive Officer (CEO). “The more people we can inspire to become organ donors, the better we can serve our mission to be advocates for the well-being of our entire community.”

Some important facts about organ, tissue, and cornea donation:

• Anyone can be a potential donor regardless of age, race, or medical history.

• With more than 90,000 people across the nation awaiting a kidney, it is the organ in greatest demand, followed by liver, heart, and lungs.

• Because conditions such as diabetes and hypertension are often more prevalent in the multicultural community, these individuals make up more than 50 percent of those on the national organ transplant list.

Individuals are encouraged to talk with family members and friends about registering as a donor. One organ donor can save up to eight lives and a tissue donor can improve the lives of more than 100 others. To sign up, visit core.org/register.

VIEW EVENT PHOTO ALBUM HERE

About Boone Memorial Health Boone Memorial Hospital, Inc. (d/b/a Boone Memorial Health) is a non-profit health system based in Madison, W.Va. which primarily serves patients across Boone, Logan, Lincoln, and southern Kanawha counties. Boone Memorial Health includes a critical access hospital with a 25-bed inpatient unit, Level IV Trauma Center, and Black Lung Center; two rural health clinics with two expansion locations; a specialty clinic; and a substance abuse and mental health treatment program. In addition, BMH offers several specialty practices and ancillary services at our locations throughout Boone County.

About CORE

The Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) is one of 57 federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the United States, serving more than five million people in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Chemung County, New York. CORE coordinates the recovery and matching of organs, tissues and corneas for transplant within our service region, and works tirelessly to create a culture of donation within the hospitals and communities we serve. CORE’s mission is to Save and Heal lives through donation, ultimately ending the deaths of those on the transplant waiting list, while maintaining integrity for the donation process, dignity for the donors, and compassion for their families. CORE is a winner of the 2019 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, a presidential award that recognizes nonprofits for their innovation and excellence. For more information, visit www.core.org or call 1-800-DONORS-7.

About Donate Life America

Donate Life America (DLA) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization leading its national partners and Donate Life State Teams to increase the number of donated organs, eyes and tissue available to save and heal lives. DLA manages and promotes Donate Life℠, the national brand for the cause of donation; motivates the public to register as organ, eye and tissue donors; provides education about living donation; manages the National Donate Life Registry at RegisterMe.org; and develops and executes effective multi-media campaigns to promote donation.