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 timing of this dedication could not be better,” said Jesse Gibson, Trauma Program manager. “Many throughout our organization have been working closely with LifeLink of Georgia to further educate our staff on the organ donation process by hosting discussions on best practices, and we are thrilled to have another way to honor our patients who give the gift of life.”
In 2018, NGMC Gainesville recovered a total of 54 organs from 18 donors for lifesaving transplants – a significant increase from 2017. In fact, NGMC Gainesville was recently recognized by LifeLink of Georgia with the Barbara and John Ware Donate Life Award for making a noteworthy effort to increase opportunities for organ and tissue donation within the clinical setting or in the community.
The flagpole was made possible by the NGHS Foundation’s new Change Grants program – a vision to further engage employees by creating a vehicle for them to identify areas where they would like to improve the health system. Employees are able to submit applications for projects designed to enhance the patient experience, improve employee morale or impact patient-family satisfaction, and those selected 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 NGHS Foundation. “We are excited to say this flagpole exists because of employee donors and look forward to seeing many other Change Grant projects come to life and benefit our community in years to come.”
A Donate Life flag will fly outside the hospital during April for Donate Life Month and will also fly whenever a patient becomes an organ or tissue donor.