Harrisburg, PA (August 15, 2024) – The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) announced today the health care teams being honored this year for championing organ, eye, and tissue donation within their hospitals and communities.
The annual Donate Life Pennsylvania Hospital Challenge encourages Pennsylvania hospitals to increase donation awareness. HAP partners 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 challenge.
During National Donate Life Month in April, participating hospitals supported donation through activities such as internal trainings and coordination meetings, campaigns to register new organ donors, community events, and public communications. Hospitals earned titanium, platinum, gold, silver, or bronze level recognitions for their efforts.
This year, participation in the challenge increased to 118 Pennsylvania hospitals. HAP applauds its members’ commitment to supporting and raising awareness of organ, eye, and tissue donation. More than 6,500 Pennsylvanians need a life-saving organ transplant. One donor can save up to eight lives and enhance up to 75 others.
HAP President and CEO Nicole Stallings said, “HAP commends Pennsylvania hospitals and our partners for their terrific work to support and raise awareness about organ donation. The level of participation in the challenge demonstrates the commitment and dedication hospital teams have for the health of their communities. Increasing the number of organ, eye, and tissue donors is critical to helping hospital teams save and improve lives.”
The top performers of the 2024 HAP Donate Life Pennsylvania Hospital Challenge are:
CORE Top Performers (Western Pennsylvania)
Top Health Systems
- First Place: Allegheny Health System
- Second Place: Independence Health System
- Third Place: Conemaugh Health System
Top Hospitals
- First Place: AHN Allegheny General Hospital
- Second Place: UPMC Presbyterian
- Third Place: AHN Jefferson Hospital
Gift of Life Donor Program Top Performers (Eastern Pennsylvania)
Top Health Systems
- First Place: Temple Health
- Second Place: Penn Medicine
- Third Place: UPMC North Central PA
Top Hospitals
- First Place: Temple University Hospital
- Second Place: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
- Third Place: Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
A full list of hospital designations resulting from the challenge and more information about the scoring process are available online.
“Organ and tissue donations are the ultimate gifts as they help save lives or improve the quality of life for people who receive them,” said Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen. “Thank you to the healthcare professionals across Pennsylvania whose organ and tissue donation efforts have helped increase awareness, register participants, and deliver this life-saving care. I encourage others to join the hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who have already registered to be an organ and tissue donor so more people can receive this incredible gift.”
“We are deeply honored to partner with so many committed hospitals across Pennsylvania in the HAP Donate Life Hospital Challenge,” said CORE President and CEO, Susan Stuart. “This year’s record participation is a testament to the unwavering dedication of healthcare professionals who go above and beyond to advocate for organ, tissue, and cornea donation. Each of these hospitals plays a critical role in fostering a culture of donation, inspiring countless individuals to take the step to become donors. Together, we are saving lives, supporting donor families, and giving hope to those on the transplant waiting list.”
“The HAP Donate Life Hospital Challenge has been going strong for 12 years and, this year, had the largest number of participating hospital partners to date. We are grateful for the major role our hospitals play in sharing the power of organ, tissue and cornea donation and inspiring more people to sign up as a donor,” said Rick Hasz, President and CEO of Gift of Life Donor Program. “Throughout our 50 years of service, Gift of Life has been proud to work side by side with dedicated hospital teams to provide compassionate care for donor heroes and families. We couldn’t save lives without their support and commitment. Together, we will keep striving for the day when every person on the transplant waitlist receives a second chance at life.”
About HAP: HAP is a statewide membership services organization that represents more than 230 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 56 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.orgor call 1-800-DONORS-7.
About Gift of Life Donor Program: Gift of Life Donor Program, founded in 1974 and headquartered in Philadelphia, is the federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) for the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware. It works with 126 acute care hospitals and 12 transplant centers in its region, as well as hundreds of transplant centers throughout the country, to provide the most comprehensive array of services available in the U.S. to the donation and transplantation community. Thanks to the generosity of its community, Gift of Life has coordinated 14,196 donors and 39,469 organs for transplant, the most of any OPO in the country since the inception of our national donation system in 1988. Overall, Gift of Life has coordinated more than 59,000 organs and more than two million tissue transplants since its founding. One organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people, and a tissue donor can improve the lives of 100 others. In honor of its 50 years of service, Gift of Life is rallying the community to sign up 50,000 more organ donors and provide hope to the thousands waiting for a transplant. Learn more and sign up atdonors1.org.
About Donate Life Pennsylvania: Donate Life Pennsylvania is a collaborative initiative between the Pennsylvania departments of Health, Education and Transportation and Pennsylvania’s two organ procurement organizations, the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) and Gift of Life Donor Program (GOL). It is funded by residents of Pennsylvania through voluntary contributions included with driver’s license renewals, vehicle registrations and state income tax filings or direct donations to the Governor Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund in care of the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Trust Fund contributions are used to educate Pennsylvanians, build awareness about the importance of organ and tissue donation, and increase the number of people who sign up to become organ donors on their driver’s license or state identification card. More information is available at donatelifepa.org or facebook.com/DonateLifePennsylvania.