Press Release
St. Joseph’s Mercy Health Center
St. Joseph’s receives awards of appreciation from ARORA
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery Agency (ARORA) of Little Rock recently gave out Awards of Appreciation to St. Joseph’s and two of its co-workers for their continued efforts and support on behalf of organ and tissue donation.
On behalf of St. Joseph’s, Chief Operating Officer Randy Fortner and Vice President of Mission and Ethics Patrick McCruden accepted the organization-wide award from ARORA. Meanwhile, Intensive Care Unit nurse Carolyn Seastrom, RN, and Lana Lambert, RN, MNSc, Palliative Care Coordinator and Critical Care Nurse Specialist, were given the individual awards of appreciation.
Both Seastrom and Lambert sit on the ARORA Hospital Relations Committee, attend the National Breakthrough Collaborative on Organ Donation Conferences, go to Organ and Tissue Meetings and educate the hospital staff on donation procedures.
“With over 90,000 people nationwide waiting for an organ transplant, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) have recently added standards relating to organ and tissue donation to try and solve the healthcare crisis,” said Becky Gertsch, ARORA’s Director of Hospital Development. “Their regulations and the efforts of dedicated staffs like the one at St. Joseph’s are producing unprecedented results.”