Several individuals and institutions were honored Saturday, March 7, 2009 by Lifeline of Ohio for their role in saving lives through organ and tissue donation. Seventeen awards were presented by the federally-designated organ procurement organization at the seventh annual ceremony, An Evening with the Stars, in Columbus, Ohio. Each award was introduced by a local individual whose life has been touched by donation. Among the presenters were organ transplant recipients, transplant candidates, living donors and donor family members.
Michelle McKissick, of Nationwide Childrens Hospital, was named Lifeline of Ohios Hospital Administrator of the Year. The award recognizes the guidance and direction of a member of a hospital administration team in promoting donation. McKissick is truly a champion for the cause, and developed the role of an in-house coordinator for the hospital.
Lifeline of Ohio (LOOP) is an independent, non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote and coordinate the donation of human organs and tissues for transplantation. Lifeline of Ohio is approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as the designated organ procurement organization (OPO) serving 37 counties in Central and Southeastern Ohio, as well as Wood and Hancock counties, W.Va. Lifeline of Ohio provides service to 64 hospitals through its transplant coordinators. LOOPs clinical staff is on call 24 hours a day to coordinate the recovery and transport if tissues and organs for human transplant.
Additionally, Lifeline of Ohio offers educational presentations for professional, civic, church and social organizations, as well as elementary through college-level school programs. These programs are offered year-round as a community services and are customized to meet the objectives of the particular audience. For more information, log onto www.lifelineofohio.org or call 800-525-5667.
For additional information, please contact:
Heather Blausey
Lifeline of Ohio
614.384.7331
Nationwide Childrens Administrator Recognized by Lifeline of Ohio
March 17, 2009
About Nationwide Children's Hospital
Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-24 list of “Best Children’s Hospitals,” Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of America’s largest not-for-profit free-standing pediatric health care systems providing unique expertise in pediatric population health, behavioral health, genomics and health equity as the next frontiers in pediatric medicine, leading to best outcomes for the health of the whole child. Integrated clinical and research programs, as well as prioritizing quality and safety, are part of what allows Nationwide Children’s to advance its unique model of care. Nationwide Children’s has a staff of more than 14,000 that provides state-of-the-art wellness, preventive and rehabilitative care and diagnostic treatment during more than 1.7 million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.