Confluence Health jointly recognized for excellence in organ donation collaboration and individually recognized for three additional awards

Wenatchee- Confluence Health will be recognized jointly along with Samaritan Healthcare in Moses Lake for the Excellence in Community Partnership Award from LifeCenter Northwest, a non-profit organ procurement organization. This prestigious award is typically given annually to only one hospital across a four-state, 230+ hospital region which has demonstrated unwavering dedication to working to improve the lives of people in the communities they serve.

The Excellence in Community Partnership Award for 2022 was awarded jointly to Central Washington Hospital and Samaritan Hospital for their collaboration in working on organ procurement with a trauma patient. In late 2022, staff at Samaritan Hospital recognized the clinical triggers for donation while treating a patient and made a critical, time-sensitive call. Realizing that the patient would need to be transferred to make donation possible, Samaritan Hospital reached out to Confluence Health’s Central Washington Hospital after numerous denials for transfer over the course of two days from other hospitals throughout Washington State. After being declared brain dead, the patient went on to be an organ donor at Confluence Health, an act which helped save four lives.

Both hospitals will be recognized in a ceremony this May, by LifeCenter Northwest with the award for their excellent collaboration as exemplary community partners, without which the organ donation would not have been possible. The recognition will also be officially announced in LifeCenter Northwest’s 2022 Annual Report which will be published this month on their website, with the presentation to occur the following month.

“Both of these hospitals truly embody the spirit of community partnership,” remarked Santokh Gill, president, and CEO of LifeCenter Northwest. “Most importantly, their unique partnership made it possible to save four lives during a donation case last year.”

“We are so honored to receive this recognition along with our partners at Samaritan Healthcare,” commented Janna Finley, trauma program manager for Confluence Health. “Our team is able to provide this lifesaving care through our collaboration with LifeCenter Northwest and we are so thankful for the recognition of our team for these critical efforts.”

In addition, Confluence Health’s Central Washington Hospital was also recognized by LifeCenter Northwest with an additional three metric-based achievement awards.

The first award, the Organ Donation Process Excellence Award, previously called the Donation Referral Achievement Award – Organ, is granted to hospitals who have a process error rate of 5% or less. Realizing and maintaining a low process error rate is incredibly challenging and requires a strong commitment across hospital services and staff, and Central Washington Hospital was one of only 26 hospitals to earn this honor in this organ donation service area. Confluence Health has previously been honored with this award four times before (2017, 2019, 2020, 2021).

The second award, the Collaborative Family Support Award, is earned by hospitals with a collaborative request rate of 90% or greater, which recognizes hospital partners that excel in the area of planning a collaborative family connection with LifeCenter Northwest. Central Washington Hospital was one of only 39 hospitals to receive this recognition in the organ donation service area.

Finally, the third award, the Honoring Donor Decisions Award, is earned by hospitals honoring all donor decisions to be an organ donor in collaboration with LifeCenter Northwest. Central Washington Hospital was one of only 41 hospitals in the organ donation service area to receive this award.

“These awards recognize the dedication of all of the nurses, physicians, and staff at both Central Washington Hospital and all Confluence Health facilities to honor the wishes of patients and their families after making the decision to be an organ donor, a choice which allows us to provide life-saving care to others,” reflected Kelly Allen, chief nursing officer for Confluence Health. “We are proud to play a role in this important area of care for our patients, and grateful to LifeCenter Northwest for their recognition and ongoing partnership.”

About Confluence Health: Confluence Health serves the largest geographic region of any healthcare system in Washington State, covering over 12,000 square miles of Okanogan, Grant, Douglas, and Chelan counties. Confluence is one of only two locally-lead healthcare systems in the state with the purpose of maintaining availability and access to high-quality, cost-effective healthcare services for North Central Washington. The Confluence Health Board of Directors provides governance for Confluence Health, the Clinic, Central Washington Hospital, and Wenatchee Valley Hospital, and includes nine community board members and six physician board members.

About LifeCenter Northwest: LifeCenter Northwest is a non-profit organ procurement organization serving Alaska, Montana, North Idaho, and Washington, and works collaboratively with more than 200 hospitals to save lives through organ and tissue donation. In addition, LifeCenter Northwest serves the largest geographic area of all the 57 federally designated organ procurement organizations nationwide.