OCH Regional Medical Center recently received a Hospital Excellence Award at the inaugural Spero Awards presented by Donate Life Mississippi. The Medical Center is one of only nine medical facilities in the state to be recognized for its achievement of national organ donation performance standards.

Additionally, the awards ceremony recognized hospital partners, medical professionals, corporate partners and donor ambassadors who work tirelessly in conjunction with Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA). OCH Chief Nursing Officer Dr. Martha Fulcher, DNP, MSN, RNC, was nominated for the “Most Supportive Hospital Leadership Award,” for making significant contributions toward the awareness and commitment to organ, eye and tissue donation.

“Organ and tissue donation translates to the gift of life or better quality of life, and we are honored to be a part of the process,” said OCH Administrator/CEO Richard Hilton. “Dr. Fulcher not only works in collaboration with physicians, clinical staff, other medical facilities, and MORA to make the process efficient but also supports and promotes donation awareness,” Hilton added.

On April 1 of this year, OCH held a balloon launch to raise awareness during National Donate Life Month and also recognized the family of a tissue donor, as well as a tissue recipient.

Currently over 1,400 Mississippians and 123,000+ Americans are in need of a lifesaving transplant. A new patient is added to the national transplant waiting list every 10 minutes and an average of 18 people die each day awaiting a lifesaving transplant that never comes. To register as an organ and tissue donor go to www.donatelifems.org.