GREEN BAY and LA CROSSE — Emplify Health’s Green Bay and La Crosse hospitals are two of 19 hospitals and medical centers recognized by UW Organ and Tissue Donation for an ongoing commitment to saving and improving lives through organ and tissue donation.
UW Organ and Tissue Donation is a federally designated organ procurement organization serving more than 100 hospitals in Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois. Each year, the organization presents four different awards to hospitals and staff for excellence in maximizing the gift of life.
Emplify Health were recognized with the following awards for 2024:
- Emplify Health by Bellin Green Bay Hospital: Excellence in Tissue Donation
- Emplify Health by Gundersen La Crosse Hospital: Silver Award of Hope & Nachreiner Family Care Award
The UW Organ and Tissue Donation Award of Hope recognizes the comprehensive work of hospitals that achieve or exceed goals that maximize organ donation. The award is based on three measurements. One is the true conversion rate, which calculates the percentage of medically eligible donors who become actual donors. Another measurement is organs transplanted per donor, which evaluates the average number of organs recovered from each donor or an observed/expected organs transplanted outcome. The final measurement is referral rate, which calculates the percentage of patients that met a threshold to be referred to UW Organ and Tissue Donation for evaluation. Hospitals can earn a gold, silver or bronze Award of Hope for meeting all three, two, or one of these metrics, respectively.
The Excellence in Tissue Donation Award is given to partner hospitals that achieve at least a 66 percent authorization rate from families when asked by care teams about organ donation. This metric measures the collaborative work between hospital and tissue bank staff in coordinating communication with patients and families around tissue authorization conversations.
The Nachreiner Family Care Award is presented to one hospital each year to recognize the exceptional efforts of hospital staff in managing organ donation cases. To be eligible for the award, a hospital must demonstrate consistent family support practices and have at least one outstanding case example of those practices in action from the previous calendar year.
“Hospitals are essential partners in the life-saving journey of organ donation through their compassionate care for donor heroes and the exceptional support of donor families,” said Michael Anderson, executive director of UW Organ and Tissue Donation. “We commend these hospitals and their incredible care teams for working so hard to honor the selfless generosity of organ donors and ensure their life-saving gifts reach those who need them most.”
These awards recognize the extensive work of the care teams to facilitate organ donation with compassion and efficiency, according to Dr. Scott Rathgaber, CEO of Emplify Health.
“Emplify Health’s care teams go above and beyond to educate and inform patients and families about organ donation,” Rathgaber said. “We are incredibly proud of their collaborative work with our healthcare partners and neighbors to ensure communication is happening in the name of saving lives.”
