The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today honored 184 of the nation's largest hospitals for substantially raising the organ donation rates of eligible donors who died in their facilities in 2004.

Executives of the hospitals, together with their partners in 49 organ procurement organizations (OPOs), were given the department's first annual Medals of Honor for Organ Donation by Elizabeth M. Duke, Ph.D., administrator of HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), during a ceremony today in Pittsburgh. Hospitals and OPOs were cited for raising their donation rate to 75 percent of eligible donors. By contrast, the national average donation rate in all hospitals was 55 percent last year.

Fifty-eight U.S. OPOs coordinate organ procurement in designated service areas and work to preserve organs and arrange for their distribution according to national policies.

"The work of these hospitals and OPOs helped make possible 1,400 more life-saving transplants than occurred in 2003," Dr. Duke said. "Their achievements demonstrate that we can improve systems to boost donation rates and save many more lives in the future."

Hospitals with eight or more potential organ donors in any consecutive 12-month period between September 2003 and March 2005 were eligible for the Medals of Honor. A total of 532 hospitals had eight or more potential donors during the award timeframe.

Organ donation increased by an unprecedented 10.8 percent in 2004, reaching a new annual record of 27,033 transplant operations. Results so far for the first four months of 2005 are breaking each of the monthly records established in 2004.

The record increases in 2004 donation rates followed the launch in 2003 by HRSA officials of the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative . That initiative brought together donation professionals and hospital leaders to identify and share best practices to maximize organ donation rates from people who die in their facilities. The aim was to achieve organ donation rates of at least 75 percent at participating hospitals. Staff from HRSA and the OPOs helped participating hospitals identify, adapt, test, and implement practices known to produce high donation rates.

With the encouraging results of the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative, Dr. Duke used the award ceremony to announce the creation of a new Organ Transplantation Breakthrough Collaborative . The new Collaborative seeks to increase the number of transplant operations by encouraging medical professionals to adopt practices that allow them to maximize the number of transplantable organs from each donor. The aim is to raise the average number of organs collected from each donor to 3.75 over the course of the next 500 days. Currently the collection rate is about 3 per donor.

HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt urged large donor hospitals, organ procurement organizations and transplant programs to join the new Collaborative. "By working together to increase the number of transplantable organs from each donor, we can make the most of the Gift of Life offered by generous donor families."

Additional information on the Department's donation initiatives and the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative is available at http://www.organdonor.gov. The list of the hospitals that won HHS Medals of Honor for Organ Donation is printed below.
 

Hospitals That Won HHS Medals of Honor for Organ Donation
Name	City	State
Providence Alaska Medical Center	Anchorage	Alaska
Arkansas Childrens Hospital	Little Rock	Arkansas
Baptist Health Medical Center	Little Rock	Arkansas
Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center	Phoenix	Arizona
John C. Lincoln Hosp North Mountain	Phoenix	Arizona
Maricopa Medical Center	Phoenix	Arizona
Scottsdale Healthcare-Osborn	Scottsdale	Arizona
Palomar Medical Center	Escondido	California
Saint Agnes Medical Center	Fresno	California
Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla	La Jolla	California
Grossmont Hospital	La Mesa	California
Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center	Lancaster	California
Long Beach Memorial Medical Center	Long Beach	California
Children's Hospital Central California	Madera	California
Providence Holy Cross Medical Center	Mission Hills	California
Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center	Mission Viejo	California
Doctors Medical Center	Modesto	California
Memorial Hospital Medical Center	Modesto	California
Northridge Hospital Medical Center	Northridge	California
Alameda County Medical Center	Oakland	California
Children's Hospital Medical Center	Oakland	California
Huntington Memorial Hospital	Pasadena	California
Mercy Medical Center Redding	Redding	California
Kaiser Foundation Hospital	Redwood City	California
Riverside Community Hospital	Riverside	California
Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital	Salinas	California
U. of California San Diego Medical Center	San Diego	California
Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center	San Luis Obispo	California
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital	Santa Barbara	California
Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital	Santa Rosa	California
Stanford Hospital	Stanford	California
Danbury Hospital	Danbury	Connecticut
St. Francis Hospital & Medical Center	Hartford	Connecticut
Shands Jacksonville Medical Center	Jacksonville	Florida
Shands Hospital at the University of Florida	Gainesville	Florida
St Luke's Hospital	Jacksonville	Florida
Lakeland Regional Medical Center	Lakeland	Florida
Florida Hospital	Orlando	Florida
Baptist Hospital	Pensacola	Florida
North Broward Medical Center	Pompano Beach	Florida
Atlanta Medical Center	Atlanta	Georgia
Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta - Scottish Rite	Atlanta	Georgia
Piedmont Hospital	Atlanta	Georgia
Southeast Georgia Regional Medical Center	Brunswick	Georgia
Gwinnett Hospital System	Lawrenceville	Georgia
Wellstar Kennestone Hospital	Marietta	Georgia
Floyd Medical Center	Rome	Georgia
Maui Memorial Medical Center	Wailuku	Hawaii
St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center	Boise	Idaho
Cook County Hospital	Chicago	Illinois
Illinois Masonic Med Center	Chicago	Illinois
Mt. Sinai Hospital Medical Center	Chicago	Illinois
Resurrection Medical Center	Chicago	Illinois
University of Chicago Hospitals	Chicago	Illinois
Good Samaritan Hospital-Advocate	Downers Grove	Illinois
Lutheran General Hospital	Park Ridge	Illinois
Saint Francis Medical Center	Peoria	Illinois
Rockford Memorial Hospital	Rockford	Illinois
Saint Anthony Medical Center	Rockford	Illinois
Central Dupage Hospital	Winfield	Illinois
Methodist Hospitals Northlake	Gary	Indiana
Memorial Hospital of South Bend	South Bend	Indiana
Porter Memorial Hospital	Valparaiso	Indiana
Iowa Methodist Medical Center	Des Moines	Iowa
University of Iowa Hospital Clinic	Iowa City	Iowa
University of Kansas Hospital	Kansas City	Kansas
Olathe Medical Center	Olathe	Kansas
Stormont Vail Healthcare	Topeka	Kansas
Via Christi Regional Medical Center	Wichita	Kansas
Wesley Medical Center	Wichita	Kansas
Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center	Lafayette	Louisiana
Eastern Maine Medical Center	Bangor	Maine
Maine Medical Center	Portland	Maine
Washington County Hospital	Hagerstown	Maryland
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	Boston	Massachusetts
St. Vincent Hospital	Worcester	Massachusetts
St. Joseph Mercy Hospital	Ann Arbor	Michigan
University of Michigan Health System	Ann Arbor	Michigan
Henry Ford Hospital	Detroit	Michigan
Saint Mary's Mercy Medical Center	Grand Rapids	Michigan
Spectrum Health-Downtown Campus	Grand Rapids	Michigan
Bronson Methodist Hospital	Kalamazoo	Michigan
Edward W. Sparrow Hospital Association	Lansing	Michigan
Marquette General Hospital	Marquette	Michigan
Mt. Clemens General Hospital	Mt. Clemens	Michigan
Covenant Health Care	Saginaw	Michigan
St. Mary's Medical Center	Saginaw	Michigan
St. Mary's Medical Center	Duluth	Minnesota
St. Mary's Hospital	Rochester	Minnesota
Singing River Hospital System	Pascagoula	Mississippi
St. Francis Medical Center	Cape Girardeau	Missouri
St. John's Regional Medical Center	Joplin	Missouri
Research Medical Center	Kansas City	Missouri
St. Luke's Hospital Of Kansas City	Kansas City	Missouri
Heartland East Hospital	St. Joseph	Missouri
St. Anthony's Medical Center	St. Louis	Missouri
St. John's Mercy Medical Center	St. Louis	Missouri
St. Louis Children's Hospital	St. Louis	Missouri
Cox Medical Center	Springfield	Missouri
St. John's Regional Health Center	Springfield	Missouri
St. Vincent Healthcare	Billings	Montana
Benefis Healthcare	Great Falls	Montana
St. Patrick Hospital Corp	Missoula	Montana
Bryanlgh Medical Center	West Lincoln	Nebraska
Creighton University Medical Center	Omaha	Nebraska
Washoe Medical Center	Reno	Nevada
Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital	Lebanon	New Hampshire
Atlantic City Hospital	Atlantic City	New Jersey
Morristown Memorial Hospital	Morristown	New Jersey
Shore Memorial Hospital	Somers Point	New Jersey
Overlook Hospital	Summit	New Jersey
St. Vincent Hospital	Santa Fe	New Mexico
Erie County Medical Center	Buffalo	New York
Millard Fillmore Hospital	Buffalo	New York
Catholic Medical Center of Brooklyn/Queens	Jamaica	New York
St. Luke's Memorial Hospital Center - Manhattan	Manhattan	New York
Strong Memorial Hospital	Rochester	New York
Franklin General Hospital	Valley Stream	New York
Cape Fear Valley Medical Center	Fayetteville	North Carolina
The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital	Greensboro	North Carolina
Pitt County Memorial Hospital	Greenville	North Carolina
Wakemed/New Bern Ave. Campus	Raleigh	North Carolina
North Carolina Baptist Hospitals	Winston-Salem	North Carolina
Meritcare Hospital	Fargo	North Dakota
Mt. Carmel Health	Columbus	Ohio
Lakewood Hospital	Lakewood	Ohio
St. Rita's Medical Center	Lima	Ohio
Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center	Portland	Oregon
Abington Memorial Hospital	Abington	Pennsylvania
Lehigh Valley Hospital	Allentown	Pennsylvania
Altoona Hospital	Altoona	Pennsylvania
St. Luke's Hospital of Bethlehem	Bethlehem	Pennsylvania
Crozer Chester Medical Center	Chester	Pennsylvania
Geisinger Medical Center	Danville	Pennsylvania
Hamot Medical Center	Erie	Pennsylvania
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, The	Hershey	Pennsylvania
Lancaster General Hospital	Lancaster	Pennsylvania
Allegheny University Hospital - Center City	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania
Frankford Hospital	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania
Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania
Shadyside Hospital	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania
UPMC, Presbyterian	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania
Reading Hospital Medical Center	Reading	Pennsylvania
Community Medical Center	Scranton	Pennsylvania
Main Line Hospitals, Inc. - Lankenau	Wynnewood	Pennsylvania
York Hospital	York	Pennsylvania
Admin. de Servicios Medicos	San Juan	Puerto Rico
Greenville Hospital Center	Greenville	South Carolina
Grand Strand Regional Medical Center	Myrtle Beach	South Carolina
Avera Mckennan Hospital & Univ. Health Center	Sioux Falls	South Dakota
Sioux Valley Hospital	Sioux Falls	South Dakota
Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center	Kingsport	Tennessee
University of Tennessee Memorial Hospital	Knoxville	Tennessee
Northwest Texas Hospital	Amarillo	Texas
Arlington Memorial Hospital	Arlington	Texas
Baylor University Medical Center	Dallas	Texas
Brooke Army Medical Center	Fort Sam Houston	Texas
JPS Health Network	Fort Worth	Texas
Harris Methodist Fort Worth	Fort Worth	Texas
Hermann Hospital	Houston	Texas
Texas Children's Hospital	Houston	Texas
University Medical Center	Lubbock	Texas
North East Methodist Hospital	San Antonio	Texas
Southwest Texas Methodist Hospital	San Antonio	Texas
LDS Hospital	Salt Lake City	Utah
Primary Children's Medical Center	Salt Lake City	Utah
University of Utah Hospital	Salt Lake City	Utah
Fletcher Allen Hospital of Vermont	Burlington	Vermont
Inova Fairfax Hospital	Falls Church	Virginia
Children's Hospital King's Daughters	Norfolk	Virginia
Virginia Beach General Hospital	Virginia Beach	Virginia
Providence Hospital	Everett	Washington
Harborview Medical Center	Seattle	Washington
Sacred Heart Medical Center	Spokane	Washington
Tacoma General Allenmore Hospital	Tacoma	Washington
S. W. Washington Medical Center	Vancouver	Washington
Cabell-Huntington Hospital	Huntington	West Virginia
St. Vincent Hospital	Green Bay	Wisconsin
La Crosse Lutheran Hospital	La Crosse	Wisconsin
U. of Wisconsin Hospitals/Clinics Authority	Madison	Wisconsin
St. Josephs Hospital	Marshfield	Wisconsin
Theda Clark Memorial Hospital	Neenah	Wisconsin
Waukesha Memorial Hospital Inc.	Waukesha	Wisconsin
Wausau Hospital	Wausau	Wisconsin