Colquitt Regional earns recognition for promoting organ, eye, tissue donation

MOULTRIE — Colquitt Regional Hospital recently earned national recognition for its efforts to increase organ, eye and tissue donor registrations across the state of Georgia through the DoNation Campaign. DoNation engages work places of all sizes and industries to highlight the importance in the lifesaving and life-giving mission of organ and tissue donation and transplantation.

In partnership with LifeLink of Georgia, the local organ and tissue recovery program, and Donate Life Georgia, the state’s organ and tissue donor registry, Colquitt Regional earned the Bronze level of recognition for conducting organ donation education and donor registration activities between Oct. 1, 2022 and Sept. 30, 2023.

During the 2022-2023 campaign cycle, the hospital was one of 87 participating hospital partners within the LifeLink service area. Through educational opportunities, trainings, and collaboration between the hospital’s Staff Nurse Advisory Council and LifeLink, new donor registrations were added to the Donate Life Georgia state donor registry and donation awareness was raised.

“The passion and advocacy that our ICU team has for organ donation is inspiring,” Colquitt Regional Vice President of Patient Services and Chief Nursing Officer Dena Zinker said. “They deal with our most critical patients day after day, and they have seen the importance of organ donation and how the process is both life-changing and life-saving for so many patients and their families.”

Colquitt Regional had four ICU nurses — RNs Hazel Hill, Kim Myricks, Beylee Bozeman and Liz Ann Parrish — represent the hospital at the LifeLink of Georgia Donor Resource Training Program. The goal of the program is to improve the organ, eye and tissue donation process through the help of clinical champions in critical care units. These clinical champions are dedicated to serving as a resource in real time by working with physicians, other members of the care team, and LifeLink staff in order to help facilitate the donation process.

“I commend everyone who played a role in Colquitt Regional receiving this award,” Hospital Authority Chairman Richard E. Turner Jr. said “This further displays the dedication of our staff members and their commitment to helping spread awareness about organ donation.”

Nationally, more than 103,000 individuals are waiting for a lifesaving transplant, and more than 3,000 of those individuals live in Georgia. Every day in the United States, 17 people pass away because an organ was not available in time, and every nine minutes, another person is added to the national organ transplant waiting list.

This ongoing need reaffirms the critical and growing importance for more registered organ, eye and tissue donors. Anyone, regardless of their age or health, can make their decision to become a registered organ and tissue donor when obtaining a driver’s license through the Department of Driver Services, when purchasing a hunting or fishing license online through the Department of Natural Resources, or online by going to www.DonateLifeGeorgia.org.

For more information on this award, contact the Colquitt Regional marketing department at (229) 890-3552.

Special Photo: Colquitt regional