Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital has been awarded the Bronze Medal of Honor by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for achieving top organ donation rates.  

Henry Mayo was one of only eight hospitals out of more than 200 facilities throughout the seven-county Greater Los Angeles Area honored for excellence in organ donation on Nov. 4 during the 6th National Learning Congress for the Donation and Transplantation Community of Practice in Grapevine, Texas. The HHS Medal of Honor is awarded in three categories to hospitals with a minimum organ donation rate during an 18-month period.  

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“As one of eight hospitals in the OneLegacy service area to win a medal at this year’s National Learning Congress, Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital has demonstrated the highest level of commitment on the part of both their administration and staff to the life-saving possibilities of organ donation,” said Katie Curran, OneLegacy’s hospital services coordinator. “With over 109,000 people now on the National Waiting list for organ transplants, the support of hospitals like Henry Mayo is more important than ever as we work together to end deaths on the waiting list.”  

The Bronze medal is awarded when the medical center maintains an organ donation conversion rate of 75 percent or more during the specified time period. The conversion rate refers to the number of organ donors recovered as a percentage of all potential donors at a given medical facility. There were six organ donors at Henry Mayo and 13 organs transplanted between October 1, 2008, and March 31, 2010, resulting in an 85 percent conversion rate. This is the fourth year in which Henry Mayo has received the coveted Medal of Honor.  

“We’re honored to receive an award that validates our efforts to give those waiting for an organ donation hope for renewed health,” said Roger Seaver, president and CEO of Henry Mayo. “But the real heroes are the individuals and their families who made the decision to try to have something positive come from their own tragedy.”  

Presented in partnership with OneLegacy, a nonprofit organ and tissue recovery agency serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the Medal of Honor award is part of the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative, an HHS initiative launched in 2003 to save and enhance thousands of lives annually by spreading best practices to the nation’s largest hospitals. Since the program was launched, U.S. transplants and organ donations have increased significantly.

Individuals wishing to make the commitment to become a potential organ donor can register online with OneLegacy at donateLIFEcalifornia.org or its Spanish-language counterpart, doneVIDAcalifornia.org, or it can be designated on your driver’s license.