Confluence Health receives award for role in organ donation saving four lives

Wenatchee - Confluence Health was recognized Thursday, May 11 for the Excellence in Community Partnership Award in a ceremony put on by 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.

As a part of the ceremony, LifeCenter Northwest invited Sue Bergin to speak about her experience with organ donation and its impact. Accompanied by her mother Jan, Bergin spoke the death of her son, Mikhaill Stewart, after a motorcycle accident in November 2018. Having made his wishes clear to his family before his passing, Stewart was able to be an organ donor, and his act in turn saved several lives. Though her son’s donation was not the case Confluence Health was being recognized for playing a role in, Bergin emphasized the lifesaving impacts all organ donations can have. “Organ donation is such a gift,” commented Bergin.

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.

“This award wouldn’t have been possible without our team,” commented Janna Finley, trauma program manager for Confluence Health, after the award presentation from Matt Prior, hospital development program manager for LifeCenter Northwest. “It truly takes a team of people to make this possible. Thank you for the partnership. Organ donation is truly a gift.”

In addition, Confluence Health’s Central Washington Hospital was also recognized by LifeCenter Northwest with an additional three metric-based achievement awards: the Organ Donation Process Excellence Award for hospitals who have a process error rate of 5% or less, the Collaborative Family Support Award for a collaborative request rate of 90% or greater, and the Honoring Donor Decisions Award for honoring all donor decisions to be an organ donor in collaboration with LifeCenter Northwest.

“We are so proud of the dedication of all of the nurses, physicians, and staff at both Central Washington Hospital and all Confluence Health facilities that these recognitions represent,” 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.