GAINESVILLE, Ga. – Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) is now able to honor organ donors in a big way – by flying a Donate Life flag in their honor. A new flagpole, made possible by the vision and generosity of Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) employees, was dedicated today at NGMC Gainesville. The flagpole was one of the first projects to come out of the Northeast Georgia Health System Foundation’s vision to further engage employees by creating a vehicle for them to identify areas where they would like to improve the health system. That’s how the new system-wide program, Change Grants, came into being. Employees are able to submit applications for change and selected projects designed to enhance the patient experience, improve employee morale or impact patient-family satisfaction are granted funding. “By encouraging employees to submit ideas, we are able to fund improvements we may otherwise not have thought about,” said Chris Bray, president and chief operating officer for the Northeast Georgia Health System Foundation. “We look forward to seeing many other Change Grant projects come to life and seeing how they will benefit our community for years to come.”
A Donate Life flag will fly in April for Donate Life Month and will also fly whenever an organ procurement is taking place at the hospital. “The timing of this dedication could not be better, as many throughout our organization have been working closely with LifeLink of Georgia to further educate our staff on the organ donation process,” said Jesse Gibson, Trauma Program manager. “We are excited to say this flagpole exists because of employee donors and are thrilled to have another way to honor our patients who give the gift of life.”