Flags displayed across California for National Donate Life Month in April
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., April 15, 2015 – This April, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian will be joining more than
20 southern California hospitals and organizations promoting donation
by displaying a “Donate Life” flag in honor of organ, eye
and tissue donors.
The “Flags Across America” campaign is part of a national effort
to bolster organ and tissue donor registries in April for National Donate
Life Month.
On April 14, Hoag joined the “Flags Across America” campaign
and will be framing and displaying the Donate Life Flag at the hospital
to raise public awareness about donation, and also to honor all of the
past organ, eye and tissue donors who have saved or enhanced countless
lives with their generous gifts. The “Flags Across America”
campaign motivates communities to consider the benefits of organ donation
and to then join the Donate Life California Organ & Tissue Donor Registry.
“Organ and tissue donation can save and improve lives right here in our community, throughout the
state of California and across the nation. Hoag wants to help drive that
point home with this symbolic flag,” said Robert T. Braithwaite,
president and CEO of Hoag. “Joining the Donor Registry gives hope
to those in need of organ and tissue transplants, while leaving a legacy
of generosity for the donor and his or her family.”
At present, more than 21,000 California residents are waiting to receive
life-saving hearts, livers, lungs, kidneys and other organs. However,
there are not enough donors to meet the growing need in the state, let
alone the country. In fact, 18 people die every day in the U.S. waiting
for an organ transplant and the national waiting list currently holds
more than 121,000 people.
Those wishing to make the commitment to donate may register online atwww.donateLIFEcalifornia.org or its Spanish-language counterpart,www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org.
ABOUT HOAG MEMORIAL HOSPITAL PRESBYTERIAN
Hoag is an approximately $1 billion nonprofit, regional health care delivery
network in Orange County, California, that treats more than 25,000 inpatients
and 369,000 outpatients annually. Hoag consists of two acute-care hospitals,
six health centers, and eight urgent care centers. Hoag Hospital Newport
Beach, which has served Orange County since 1952, and Hoag Hospital Irvine,
which opened in 2010, are designated Magnet hospitals by the American
Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Hoag offers a comprehensive blend
of health care services that includes five institutes providing specialized
services in the following areas:
cancer,
heart and vascular,
neurosciences,women’s health, and orthopedics through Hoag’s affiliate,
Hoag Orthopedic Institute. In 2013, Hoag entered into an alliance with St. Joseph Health to further
expand health care services in the Orange County community, known as St.
Joseph Hoag Health. Hoag has been named one of the Best Regional Hospitals
in the U.S. News & World Report Metro Edition. National Research Corporation
has endorsed Hoag as Orange County’s most preferred hospital for
the past 19 consecutive years and, for an unprecedented 19 years, residents
of Orange County have chosen Hoag as one of the county’s best hospitals
in a local newspaper survey. Visit
www.hoag.org for more information.