Aspirus Wausau Hospital (AWH) was recognized today by the University of Wisconsin Organ and Tissue Donation (UW OTD) for its ongoing commitment to saving and improving lives through organ and tissue donation.
AWH received the Excellence in Tissue Donation Award and the Family Care Award.
The Family Care Award recognizes the comprehensive work of one hospital each year that exemplifies the highest standards of family support during an organ donation case. To be eligible for the award, a hospital must demonstrate consistent innovative family support practices, and have at least one outstanding case example of those practices in action from the previous calendar year.
The Excellence in Tissue Donation award is given to Versiti partner hospitals who achieve at least a 60 percent consent rate. This metric measures the collaborative work between the hospital staff and tissue bank in coordinating communication around tissue consent conversations.
“Our team at AWH takes pride in saving and improving lives through organ and tissue donation,” said Jeff Wicklander, Aspirus SVP & AWH President. “We are proud of the role we play in helping patients give the gift of life to others in our communities.”
Nineteen hospitals are being honored by University of Wisconsin Organ and Tissue Donation (UW OTD) for their ongoing commitment to saving and improving lives through organ and tissue donation.
"The clinical management of donors, coupled with a hospital's compassionate support of donor families, is a critical component to saving lives through the gift of organ donation and transplantation," said Michael Anderson, executive director of UW OTD. "We honor these hospitals and their incredible physicians and nursing teams for working so hard to help ensure that those who are waiting for a transplant will get a second chance at life."
Aspirus encourages everyone to give hope and help save lives by registering your decision to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor at organdonor.gov, in the Medical ID tab of your iPhone Health app, or at the Wisconsin DMV. To those who have already registered their donation decision, thank you! You can also help save lives by sharing the Donate Life message and educate others about the need and how their generosity can help save and heal lives.