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Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System (FMOLHS) hospitals in Louisiana and Mississippi recently earned platinum recognition for their efforts to increase organ, eye and tissue donor registrations and awareness of the need across both states.

This award was presented by the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA) and Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA) as part of the Workplace Partnership for Life (WPFL) — a national initiative uniting the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the organ donation community with workplaces throughout the nation to spread the word about the importance of donation.

“Increasing awareness of organ donation has an incredible impact on patients and their families,” said Dr. Steven Gremillion, Chief Medical Officer of FMOLHS. “In each of our communities, thousands of people are in need of organ, eye and tissue transplants. By raising awareness for the need, we are increasing recipient matches and highlighting the selfless actions of these silent heroes.”

Louisiana hospitals Our Lady of the Angels Hospital in Bogalusa, Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette, Our Lady of the Lake Ascension in Gonzales, Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital and Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, and St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, and in Mississippi, St. Dominic’s Hospital in Jackson, were each recognized.

“There is tremendous need for organ, eye and tissue donation, and I am proud to serve in a healthcare ministry that promotes that selfless act and celebrates the hope that it provides to other families,” said Dr. Gerald Foret, hospitalist at Our Lady of the Angels Hospital.

The program challenges hospitals and healthcare organizations to educate their staff, patients, visitors and communities about the critical need for organ, eye and tissue donation and by offering them opportunities to register as donors.

This year’s campaign broke participation records with 1,700 hospitals helping to add 59,000 donor registrations between October of 2019 and May of 2020. In the nine years of the campaign, partners have added more than 552,000 donor registrations—increasing the number of organs available for transplantation to improve the lives of others.

More than 112,000 people are waiting for the gift of life saving organs and many, many more for the gift of transplantable tissue for life healing procedures. Every 10 minutes, another person is added to the organ transplant list, reaffirming the critical and growing need for registered organ, eye and tissue donors. For more information about the hospital campaign, visit organdonor.gov/hospitals. To sign up as a donor, go to donatelifela.org.