Boone Memorial Hospital receives 2021 Gold Donate Life West Virginia, CORE, Award

The Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE), the federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organization (OPO) serving West Virginia, has partnered with the West Virginia Hospital Association (WVHA) and Donate Life West Virginia, to honor 34 hospitals and health systems throughout the state, who have gone above and beyond to build a culture of donation within their facilities, including Boone Memorial Hospital.

"For more than 40 years, CORE has relied on our hospital partners to make our life-saving mission possible. That has never been truer than in the past year. Even with the challenges presented by COVID-19, West Virginia’s hospitals never wavered from their commitment to organ, tissue and cornea donation. Their participation in this challenge during a truly unprecedented year is proof of that unwavering commitment,” said Susan Stuart, President and CEO of CORE. “Thank you to our partners, who amidst a global pandemic, further strengthened the link between donation and transplantation, and gave CORE the privilege to care for more donors and donor families than ever before. Together, we brought light to a very dark time.”

The 2021 Donate Life West Virginia Hospital Challenge is an initiative of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)’s Workplace Partnership for Life Campaign & Hospital Challenge. The competition encourages state hospitals to highlight the need for organ, eye, and tissue donors and register more West Virginians as donors.

Participating hospitals’ awareness and designation activities were captured on a scorecard, which was adapted for this year’s virtual format. Boone Memorial Hospital was recognized at the Gold level. Awareness activities included donor registry enrollment events, education initiatives, flag raising ceremony and participation in National Blue and Green Day.

Right now, 500 West Virginians are awaiting a life-saving organ transplant. In the 10 years of the Hospital Campaign, partners nationwide have added more than 575,000 donor registrations—increasing the number of organs available for transplantation to improve the lives of others.

"We are committed to supporting CORE and its mission," said Boone Memorial Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Virgil Underwood. "It's an honor to partner with and be recognized by an organization dedicated to life-saving and life-enhancing transplants."

ABOUT DONATE LIFE WEST VIRGINIA Donate Life West Virginia is comprised of four federally-designated not-for-profit organ procurement organizations (OPOs) that are dedicated to promoting and coordinating the donation of organs and tissue for transplantation – Center for Organ Recovery & Education, Lifeline of Ohio, Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates and LifeNet Health. For more information, visit www.donatelifewv.org.

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 and West Virginia. CORE coordinates the recovery and matching of organs, tissues and corneas for transplant within their service region, and works tirelessly to create a culture of donation within the hospitals and communities they 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 core.org or call 1-800-DONORS-7.

Pictured Above (left to right) - (those involved in planning and project implementation):

Adam Richardson, RN, BMH Executive Director of Nursing Services; Terri Castle, RN, BMH Chief Nursing Officer; Virgil Underwood, BMH Chief Executive Officer; Karlie Belle Price, Director of Public Relations and Marketing and Christy Conley, CORE Community Outreach Coordinator

###