NEWPORT BEACH, Calif — (October 23, 2014) — Dr. Rosemary O’Meeghan, Critical Care Physician/Intensivist at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, has been awarded the 2014 Life Bridge Award by OneLegacy, the federally-designated organ, eye and tissue recovery agency in the greater Los Angeles Metropolitan area. The recognition was announced during the agency’s annual Donation & Transplantation Symposium, held Tuesday, October 21, 2014 at the Fairplex Conference Center in Pomona, where Hoag also received “Process Excellence” recognition.
The OneLegacy Life Bridge Award recognizes people and organizations who have demonstrated a meaningful and extraordinary impact on organ and tissue donation and transplantation in Southern California.
“OneLegacy’s mission is to save lives through organ, eye and tissue donation, and provide a sense of purpose and comfort to those families who give. We can’t accomplish this mission alone,” said Tom Mone, CEO of OneLegacy. “We rely on the valuable contributions of individuals like Dr. O’Meeghan, whose commitment to donation and exceptional medical skills have saved countless lives personally, as well as trained our staff and her colleagues throughout Southern California to help save many more.”
During the award ceremony, Dr. O’Meeghan’s long list of contributions to save lives through organ donation and transplantation was shared. Among others, she serves as the Organ Donation and Transplantation Physician Champion at Hoag, as well as Chair of the Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation Council. She has also been the force behind the creation of the Hoag Tree of Life and Book of Life, both touching memorials in honor of donors and their families. She presents about different aspects of donation on both the national and local level, and every year works tirelessly to promote Donate Life Month in Newport Beach.
Hoag also received a “Process Excellence” certificate at the Symposium for its commitment to saving lives through organ, eye and tissue donation. Hoag has a conversion rate larger than 75%, showing its commitment to following policies and procedures that make donation possible. Hoag also operates a successful donation after cardiac death (DCD) program, in which families have the opportunity to donate organs on behalf of loved ones who suffer a severe neurological injury and/or irreversible brain damage, but do not deteriorate to brain death.
The Donation & Transplantation Symposium is an annual conference hosted by OneLegacy that recognizes donation efforts in hospital and transplant centers across the Southland, and brings cutting-edge information to professionals in the field. This year the symposium reached its maximum capacity with more than 1,000 healthcare professionals in attendance including physicians, nurses, transplant professionals, social workers, respiratory therapists, and palliative and pastoral care staff.
Last year, OneLegacy recovered 1,374 organs for transplantation and a record 2,044 eye and tissue donors, who provided skin used for abdominal repairs and burn dressings, bone to repair fractures and prevent amputation, heart valves to repair life-threatening defects, tendons to repair major knee injuries, and corneas to end blindness.
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 24,000 inpatients and 362,000 outpatients annually. Hoag consists of two acute-care hospitals, six health centers, and six 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 18 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.
ABOUT ONELEGACY
Since 1977, OneLegacy has served as the bridge between donors and patients awaiting life-saving transplants. OneLegacy works with over 210 hospitals and 11 transplant centers to serve over 19 million residents in the seven-county greater Los Angeles area. Those wishing to make the commitment to donate may register online at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org or its Spanish-language counterpart, www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org. For more information about OneLegacy visit www.OneLegacy.org.
