Allegheny Health Network Acknowledged Statewide for Efforts to Drive Organ Donation Awareness
Allegheny Health Network (AHN) is receiving statewide recognition for its efforts to support and raise awareness about organ, eye, and tissue donation.
AHN has been named as the top performing health system in Western PA for the 2022 Donate Life Pennsylvania Hospital Challenge for the third consecutive year. Through this annual challenge, the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) recognizes the efforts of health care providers who lead effective campaigns to increase organ donation awareness in the community.
Three AHN facilities were also named the top performing hospitals for western Pennsylvania this year, including West Penn, Allegheny Valley, and Allegheny General, respectively. Other AHN hospitals earning a titanium-level award this year, the highest ranking possible for the month-long initiative, included Canonsburg, Forbes, Grove City, Jefferson and Saint Vincent.
HAP partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the two organ procurement organizations serving Pennsylvania—the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) and Gift of Life Donor Program—to support the Donate Life Month challenge. According to the CORE, over 100,000 people across the country are waiting for a lifesaving organ donation.
“We are incredibly honored to be recognized and lauded by HAP and the organ donation community for the third year in a row,” said Sri Chalikonda, MD, Chief Medical Operations Officer at AHN and Chair, AHN Surgical Institute. “As a leading center for organ transplantation we see daily the life-changing and life-saving gift that organ donation can be, and we are one hundred percent committed to raising awareness about the importance of registering to be an organ donor. We are grateful for our hospital teams and our partners at the Center for Organ Recovery & Education for their hard work toward achieving these top honors once again during Donate Life Month.”
HAP’s Donate Life Month honors recognize organizations for their community outreach and educational activities throughout the month of April. To celebrate national Donate Life Month, AHN hosted ten flag raising ceremonies and three rose garden ceremonies across its ten participating hospitals. These events celebrated the gift of life by honoring donor families and organ transplant recipients, generating significant media coverage and social media engagement. AHN registered more than 868 new organ donors in April thanks to its efforts.
“HAP recognizes the hospital teams dedicating their time, energy, resources, and passion to supporting organ donation—even as they continue to navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and a workforce crisis,” HAP President and CEO Andy Carter said. “The hospital community is proud to join our partners in encouraging Pennsylvanians to consider organ donation. One donor can save up to eight lives and enhance up to 75 others.”
109 hospitals statewide participated in this year’s challenge. Participating hospitals’ awareness and designation activities are captured on a scorecard and assigned titanium, platinum, gold, silver, and bronze level recognitions.
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About the Allegheny Health Network:
Allegheny Health Network (AHN.org), a Highmark Health company, is an integrated health care delivery system serving the greater Western Pennsylvania region. The network is composed of 14 hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, Health + Wellness Pavilions, an employed physician organization, home- and community-based health services, a research institute, and a group purchasing organization. AHN provides patients with access to a complete spectrum of advanced medical services, including nationally recognized programs for primary and emergency care, cardiovascular disease, cancer care, orthopedic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, women’s health, diabetes and more. AHN employs approximately 21,000 people, has more than 2,600 physicians on its medical staff, and serves as a clinical campus for Drexel University College of Medicine and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.
About HAP:
HAP is a statewide membership services organization that represents 235 hospitals as well as the patients and communities they serve. Additional information about HAP is available online.
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 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.
