Evangelical Community Hospital Recognized for Efforts Supporting Organ Donation

Evangelical Community Hospital is receiving statewide recognition for its efforts to support and raise awareness about organ, eye, and tissue donation.

Evangelical was honored with a platinum designation through The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania’s (HAP) 2022 Donate Life PA Hospital Challenge.

The annual campaign encourages Pennsylvania hospitals to increase organ, eye, and tissue donation awareness and designations within their hospitals and communities. HAP partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the two organ procurement organizations serving Pennsylvania—the Center for Organ Recovery & Education and Gift of Life Donor Program—to support the challenge.

“As a community hospital, we are uniquely positioned to not only tend to the direct healthcare needs of our patients, but to inspire our neighbors and friends to be mindful of wellness in all aspects of life,” said Kendra Aucker, President and CEO, Evangelical Community Hospital.

“The more people we can inspire to become organ donors, the better we can serve our mission to be advocates for the well-being of our entire community. Becoming an organ donor and committing to give the gift of organs after death can have a direct life-saving or quality of life improvements for others in need.”

Evangelical supported education and awareness through this statewide challenge. Efforts included staff development trainings focused on the topic of organ donation and advocacy as well as social media reminders for community members to take the time to commit and sign-up for organ donation.

“We often find that people want to be organ donors but don’t know how to go about becoming one,” said Aucker. “Our goal through this effort was to supply interested individuals with a quick way to sign-up to make the desire to be a donor possible.”

“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.”

Evangelical was one of 109 hospitals statewide that participated in this year’s challenge.