Jamaica Hospital Receives Award for Maintaining Organ Donation Rate

Jamaica Hospital Medical Center has been selected as one of only 14 hospitals in the greater New York metropolitan area to receive the distinguished Health and Human Services Department’s Organ Donor Medal of Honor.

Selected out of 100 area hospitals, JHMC met the outlined criterion by achieving and maintaining a donation rate of 75% or more of eligible donors for a year.

“Receiving nationwide recognition for our continued efforts to maintain an honorable donation rate is a significant accomplishment,” expressed Mr. William Lynch, Vice President of Professional and Regulatory Affairs. “By doing so, we have not only affected the lives of organ recipients but their families, the local community, and the general public as well.”

JHMC, along with the other winning hospitals, participated in an awards ceremony on October 9, 2007 in Nashville, Tennessee as part of the National Breakthrough Collaborative Conference on Organ Donation.

According to the New York Organ Donation Network, New York City has struggled in the past with organ donation rates but has recently seen steady improvement. The consent rate has increased from well below 50 percent to 56 percent. Since 2003, the Organ Donor Breakthrough Collaboration has worked to maximize organ donation rates from people who die in the facilities of participating hospitals. 

JHMC was previously recognized for their organ donation success. In 2004, the hospital was ranked number one for organ donation in the downstate area.