Giftofhope staff connections 4 2013

Issue 4: 2013

News, Notes and Numbers for Gift of Hope Staff

NewsBriefs Community Leaders Recognized as Heroes for Hope We recently recognized a group of 11 professionals and families who have made saving and improving the lives of others a lifelong commitment by presenting them with Heroes for Hope: Real-Life Lifesavers awards at a special ceremony on August 9 in Chicago. The awards honor everyday heroes who are committed to saving and improving the lives of The Rev. Claudio Díaz Jr. was one of 11 people people in their communities. Honorees included:

who received a Real-Life Lifesavers award. Raiza Mendoza, Hispanic Public Relations and Community Outreach Coordinator, presented the awards.

• Juan Carlos Caicedo, MD, Director of the Hispanic Transplant Program at Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

• Sgt. Juan Clas, a member of the Chicago Police Department’s Community Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) program.

• Belitza Contreras, a Latino family conflict resolution consultant.

• The Rev. Claudio Díaz Jr., pastor of Misión San Juan Diego Church in Arlington Heights, Ill. • Cpl. Israel Dominguez, a U.S. Marine Corp. veteran.

• Martha Escamilla, a social worker with Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Hispanic Transplant Program.

• Raquel Garcia-Roca, MD, a transplant surgeon at University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System.

• Josephine Navarro, a training technician for the Chicago Police Department CAPS program.

• Jose Santiago, Commissioner of the Chicago Fire Department.

President/CEO Kevin Cmunt and Raiza Mendoza, Hispanic Public Relations and Community Outreach Coordinator, presented the awards. They also presented Donate Life flags to the families of donors Luis Ángel Pérez and Brianna Arias for their contribution to saving lives through donation.

DonationStats * National Organ Waiting List. . . . . . . . . . . . . 119,408 Illinois Organ Waiting List.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,255 Indiana Organ Waiting List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,472 Illinois Organ Waiting List By Organ: • Kidney. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,559 • Liver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427 • Heart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 • Kidney/Pancreas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 • Pancreas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 • Lung. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 • Intestine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 *As of 8/31/13

SafetySnippet “Windows 1.0” Installed We’ve installed a new version of “windows”, but our evercapable IT staff had nothing to do with this project. These windows are the new portals you now see about eye level on the doors leading in and out of the building stairwells, and you can thank Ed Lesh, Director of Transportation and Facilities Management, for these safety enhancements.

Our new windows to the stairway world mean no more stubbed toes, smashed hands, spilled coffee and heart-stopping surprises when you reach for a door and it opens on its own, thanks to the actions of an unseen someone on the other side of the door. The building enhancements were made at the suggestion of a safety-conscious staffer.

Saving & Enhancing Lives Through Organ and Tissue Donation

News, Notes and Numbers for Gift of Hope Staff

Donation Research Grant Program Established A new grant program established to sponsor physician fellows interested in pursuing research on organ and tissue donation topics is beginning to bear fruit. Through our 2013 Research Award Program, physicians who are actively training in a neuroscience, critical care or transplantation fellowship program can receive grants of up to $30,000 a year to support their research.

“Organ and tissue donation and transplantation offer physician fellows opportunities to advance the existing knowledge base in these areas and to make a significant impact on our ability to make more organs and tissue available to people in need,” said Martin Jendrisak, MD, Medical Director of Gift of Hope. “We encourage physicians to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Martin Jendrisak, MD, is spearheading the research grant program.

Gift of Hope is accepting grant proposals in three project areas: • Advancing care of patients with severe acute brain injury • Enhancing organ utilization • Safeguarding the donation option Since establishing the grant program in April, we have funded two proposals. In one, Felicitas Koller, MD, a transplant surgery fellow at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, is testing whether colonization or infection of deceased organ donors with multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO) results in higher rates of post-transplant infections and, thereby, adversely affects outcomes. To conduct her study, Dr. Koller is linking clinical data from three databases, including our newly created data warehouse. These database linkages will help to identify associations between unique donor characteristics and transplant recipient outcomes. Secondary data analysis will be performed to determine the prevalence of donor MDRO

through donor medical record audits and culture reports.

“Infectious complications are of exceeding importance to safety and success in organ donation and transplantation today,” Dr. Jendrisak said. “This study may provide new donor management information as well as demonstrate the importance of inter-institutional database linkages.”

In the second grant project, John Cull, MD, a critical care fellow at Stroger Hospital of Cook County, is surveying medical professionals’ attitudes toward organ donation with the goal of identifying known and unknown biases that may be barriers to organ donation in patients. “Medical professionals are often the gateway to transplantation, so knowing their attitudes toward transplantation is very important because they are the ones who must refer potential donors to us in a timely manner as a vital first step in the donation process,” Dr. Jendrisak said.

Grant proposals will be accepted, reviewed and evaluated by our Scientific Advisory Committee through June 30, 2014.

Gift of Hope in the News In recent weeks, we’ve penetrated the airwaves, newspaper pages and online community to spread the word about Gift of Hope and organ and tissue donation.

Take a look at some of our most recent media placements: • Charleston Journal Gazette & Times-Courier story on Gift of Hope’s Back to School Tour.

• Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette story on the University of Illinois’ effort to break last year’s donor registration record.

• WCIA-TV segment on the University of Illinois’ effort to break last year’s donor registration record.

• Quad Day 2013 Photo Album on the University of Illinois’ Facebook page.

• Chicago Defender National Minority Donor Awareness Week story.

• Chicago Citizen National Minority Donor Awareness Week story.

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News, Notes and Numbers for Gift of Hope Staff

Advocates for Hope Orientation and Training in Full Swing The new Advocates for Hope orientation and training program established by Public Relations Volunteer Coordinator Heidi Schaiberger at the start of 2013 is racking up some big numbers. So far, Heidi has provided seven orientation and training sessions — in Itasca, Chicago, Rockford, Champaign, Peoria, Springfield and Munster — that have attracted 136 Advocates to learn about the rewarding opportunities available to them as Gift of Hope volunteers. Meanwhile, another 179 volunteer recruits have taken the initial step to join the Advocates for Hope program and are awaiting an opportunity to attend an upcoming orientation session.

To become an Advocates for Hope volunteer, recruits must attend a mandatory, one-day orientation to learn about Gift of Hope and organ, eye and tissue donation and become skilled at how to manage a donor registration drive and tell their story as people who have been touched by donation or transplantation.

Once Advocates have completed their orientation, they can take advantage of several optional specialized workshops to enhance their knowledge of donation and transplantation and their ability to interact with the public at outreach opportunities.

Volunteers learn how to manage a donor registration drive at our Advocates for Hope orientation and training sessions.

To learn more about upcoming Advocates for Hope volunteer training opportunities and specialized workshops, visit the Volunteers section of GiftofHope.org.

All orientations and specialized workshops are open to Gift of Hope staff and their family members to attend.

OnwardandUpward Laboratory Technologist Kasia Brooks has been awarded the 2013 Rising Star Award by the American Society for Histocompatibility & Immunogenetics. The award is presented annually to an outstanding HLA technologist who has worked in the field for less than three years and wants to pursue a career in HLA. Kasia will receive the award at the ASHI annual meeting in Chicago in November.

Jonathan Kentgen, Supervisor of Tissue Recovery Services, is now assisting with the supervision of the Donor Resource Center to compensate for the loss of two DRC Supervisors. He is dividing his time between the Tissue Recovery Department and the DRC to help us reach our organizational goal of establishing a single, tissue-focused department.

Kasia Brooks

Steve Martin

Jonathan Kentgen

Jonathan McKindles

Several staff members have been signed off to work independently in their respective fields. They are: • Steve Martin, Tissue Recovery Technician • Jonathan McKindles, Tissue Recovery Technician • Whitney Roberts, Organ Recovery Coordinator • Katy Wummel, Tissue Recovery Technician -3-

Whitney Roberts

Katy Wummel

News, Notes and Numbers for Gift of Hope Staff

Sustained Success: Strong Incentive Performance Continues As of July 31, 2013, we transplanted 549 lifesaving organs provided by 187 generous donors. Hundreds more people in need of tissue transplants will benefit from our efforts in clearing 505 skin donors and 435 bone donors. Based on our activity to date, we have met Incentive Plan Level VI for both organ and tissue categories.

2013 Incentive Metrics As of July 31, 2013

Level I

Level II

Level III

Level IV

Level V

Level VI

Weight

Organ Score 496 506 515 525 535 545 80% Tissue Score 583 594 606 618 629 641 20% Percentage per Level

2.25%

3.75%

6.00%

9.00%

10.20%

11.25%

Year-to-Date Actual

Estimated Incentive

Estimated Incentive Weighted

Organ Score

549

11.25%

9.00%

Tissue Score

717

11.25%

2.25%

Total Estimated Incentive

11.25%

MilestonesBirthdays & Anniversaries Birthdays

Anniversaries

September Birthdays

October Birthdays

Melanie Flaming.......................1 Diane Schmitz............................2 Teresa Peplow............................2 Edward Lesh...............................3 Betsy Leach................................5 Kristin Sieg..................................5 Kathleen Abhalter....................6 Walter Schmid...........................8 Dawn Williamson.....................12 David Garcia...............................13 Brian Korf....................................14 Christina Alexander.................14 Kathleen Gerrans......................14 Karen Geyer................................16 Anna Gonzalez..........................19 Veronica Moreno .....................20 Cynthia Bertulis.........................21

Carol Wasik.................................1 Ruth Keith...................................2 Michael Kessler.........................3 Allison Wallace..........................3 Ewa Bobula-Pruszynski..........5 Debra DeVito.............................5 Kimberly Goitia.........................5 Susan Cochran...........................6 Richard Brown...........................6 Katy Wummel............................7 Alice Jenkins...............................8 Jerome Schillaci........................8 Martin Jendrisak, MD..............10 Anne Meier.................................12 Jonathan Kentgen.....................12 Ryan Churchill............................13 Kim Anding.................................19

September Anniversaries Lisa Strylowski...........................19 Shaun Martin.............................20 Stefanie Dziedzic......................23 Matthew Tilson.........................24 Betty Frunk.................................25 Nicholas Buegel........................25 Jennifer Mascarella..................28 Lucas Sassolino.........................31

Kate Ayers................................... 1 Heidi Schaiberger..................... 1 April Glenn.................................. 2 Jonathan McKindles................ 2 Caitlin Coleman......................... 2 Jennifer Wonsowicz................. 3 Shanea Collins........................... 5 Rosemarie Ciruela-Kahun...... 5 Dawn Kierkowski...................... 5 Abigail Palasigue...................... 7

Catherine Kamm....................... 7 Alice Jenkins............................... 9 Grant Schumacher.................... 10 Jessina Wiley ............................ 10 Michael Kessler......................... 12 JosĂŠ Noyola................................ 12 Paul Raven.................................. 12 Rene Kalivoda............................ 14 Justin Gaeta................................ 15

October Anniversaries

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Andrea Peterson....................... 2 Anne Meier................................. 5 Jane Lee-Zimmer...................... 5 Raiza Mendoza.......................... 6 Stacey Troha............................... 6 Marcy Garcia.............................. 7 Marcin Kedzior.......................... 7 Ria Eustaquio............................. 9

Kristen McCoy........................... 10 Jennifer Koss.............................. 10 Ross Raspopovich.................... 14 Michael Harmon....................... 16 Gregory Slawski........................ 17 Evelyn Schultz............................ 20 Cindy Thomas............................ 21

News, Notes and Numbers for Gift of Hope Staff

WelcomeNewStaff Emma Mortensen joined us on August 19 as a Donor Resource Coordinator reporting to Jacqueline LaMarre, Donor Resource Center Supervisor. She comes to us from Source Temp.

Emma is a graduate of Augustana College where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in biology.

Kathy Benefield joined us on August 19 as a Tissue Recovery Coordinator reporting to Betsy Leach, Clinical Tissue Services Supervisor. She comes to us from the Iowa Donor Network. Kathy is a graduate of Kirkwood Community College with an associate’s degree in surgical technology.

Danielle Weech joined us on August 19 as a Donor Resource Coordinator reporting to Jacqueline LaMarre, Donor Resource Center Supervisor. She comes to us from DuPage County Health Department. Danielle is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and holds a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology.

Cynthia Bertulis joined us on August 19 as a Placement Perfusion Coordinator reporting to Ron Skolek, Supervisor of Placement and Perfusion Services. She comes to us from McHenry Township Fire Protection District.

Cynthia is a graduate of DePaul University with a bachelor of science degree in biology.

Tyrone White joined us on August 19 as a Tissue Recovery Technician reporting to Betsy Leach, Clinical Tissue Services Supervisor. He comes to us from Rush University Medical Center.

Tyrone is a graduate of Prairie State College where he earned an associate in applied science degree.

Nick Buegel joined us on July 8 as a Laboratory Assistant reporting to Bozena Labuda, Manager of the Histocompatibility Laboratory. A recent graduate of Conant High School, Nick comes to us from Patrick Cadillac.

Katy Wummel joined us on July 22 as a Tissue Recovery Technician reporting to Betsy Leach, Clinical Tissue Services Supervisor. She comes to us from Advocate Christ Medical Center. Katy is a graduate of Chicago Medical School with a doctor of medicine degree.

Eugenia Ellis joined us on August 19 as a Donor Resource Coordinator reporting to Jerome Howard, Donor Resource Center Supervisor. She comes to us from Advocate Christ Medical Center. Eugenia is a graduate of Fox College where she earned her medical assistant certification.

Sarah Zmola joined us on August 19 as an Organ Recovery Coordinator reporting to Michelle Mabry, Supervisor of Organ Recovery Services. She comes to us from Loyola University Medical Center. Sarah is a graduate of College of DuPage and holds an associate’s degree in nursing.

Angela Flores joined us on August 19 as an Organ Recovery Coordinator reporting to Michelle Mabry, Supervisor of Organ Recovery Services.

She comes to us from Loyola University Medical Center. Angela is a graduate of Chamberlain College of Nursing where she earned a bachelor of science degree in nursing.

Steve Martin joined us on July 22 as a Tissue Recovery Coordinator reporting to Betsy Leach, Clinical Tissue Services Supervisor. He comes to us from the Village of Morton Grove Fire Department. Steve is a graduate of Loyola University Medical Center and holds a Critical Care EMT-P certificate.

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News, Notes and Numbers for Gift of Hope Staff

Plans Set for 2014 Donate Life Rose Parade A transplant recipient, donor family and staff member will represent Gift of Hope at the 2014 Donate Life Rose Parade on New Year’s Day in Pasadena. Linda Ramos, who received a pancreas transplant in 2003, will be one of 30 riders — all transplant recipients — on the Donate Life Float. Linda’s transplant ended her battle with diabetes, which had been plaguing her since she was 16. A long-time Gift of Hope volunteer, Linda also received sclera to repair diabetes-related damage to her eyes. She regularly accompanies Donation Coordinator Alice Jenkins at community outreach events to share her story with students, clinicians and community residents.

Donor parents Robyn and Mike Deterding of Champaign, Ill., will attend the Donate Life Rose Parade festivities as our floragraph family. The floragraph will honor and recognize their son, Teddy, for the gifts of life he offered as a donor in 2000. Teddy’s floragraph will be one of 72 colorful displays memorializing deceased donors nationwide. Before traveling to Pasadena, the Deterdings also will have an opportunity to add the final touches to Teddy’s floragraph at a decorating ceremony.

Event details will be announced later.

Alice also will be representing us as the winner of our first Donate Life Rose Parade contest. Jana Lacera, Director of IRB/ Bio-Ethics at Community Hospital in Munster, will be Alice’s guest on the trip.

Light Up the World is the theme of the 2014 Donate Life Rose Parade Float.

Light Up the World is the theme of the 2014 Donate Life Rose Parade Float. The float features a festival of beautiful lanterns designed to inspire viewers worldwide to save and heal lives through organ, eye and tissue donation. The lanterns will illuminate 30 riders, all organ and tissue transplant recipients. Each lantern will be adorned with 72 memorial floragraph portraits of deceased donors whose legacies of life shine brightly.

National Minority Donor Awareness Week 2013 President/CEO Kevin Cmunt and Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White observed National Minority Donor Awareness Week by leading a Wave Away the Waiting special event at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago. On hand to assist were 300 volunteers who represented the 300 people who die each year in Illinois waiting for an organ transplant, more than half of whom are minorities. NMDAW is held each year to increase awareness of the need for more organ, eye and tissue donors, especially among minorities. Take a moment to learn more about National Minority Donor Awareness Week and what you can do to Wave Away the Waiting.

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News, Notes and Numbers for Gift of Hope Staff

We Heard You! And here’s what we’re doing about it.

Thank you to all employees who have made suggestions or offered ideas for improvement through the Employee Suggestion Box. Here is a list of recent submissions and a brief response to each one by the Management Team:

Staff members looking to purposely get all bent out of shape can take part in a new yoga class that will be offered to staffers starting this month.

• Conduct server maintenance on weekends or after work hours. In a 24-hour operation, there’s really never a good time to do server maintenance. But it has to be done. The decision for when we perform server maintenance is based on two important factors: donation activity and the availability of top-line support from our vendors should any issues arise. Most recent systems upgrades were done after regular business hours. In the future, we will look for ways to minimize the disruption caused by routine systems maintenance.

• Provide foil/zip-lock bags for leftovers. Good idea.

We will buy some and have them available soon.

• Eliminate Styrofoam, install dishwasher and buy real dishes and silverware. Well, we may not be able to completely eliminate Styrofoam, but let’s work on being more aware of our environment whenever you choose to use Styrofoam or plastic materials. And to help us along, Gift of Hope coffee mugs will be placed in all the kitchen areas and made available to staff. Please use them. And be sure to wash them when you’re done. As for the dishwasher, you’ll find one in the kitchen area on the 2nd floor next to the Illinois Room. By the way, Styrofoam is not recyclable with our waste hauler, so if you have to use it, don’t throw it in the recycling bins.

• Buy a bigger refrigerator for Springfield to store tissue and cut down on trips to Itasca. This will be considered as we plan for our new Springfield office, which is scheduled to open in spring 2014.

• Provide more tissue supplies in the fly-out room from eight sets to 12 or 14 sets. The suggestion will be reviewed by Arnitha Lim, Director of Tissue Programs.

• Offer an on-site yoga class for employees. Awesome idea! Human Resources has already done the leg work — pun intended — and will begin offering a Yoga Class for employees starting in September. This is the first step in an overall Employee Wellness Program being developed

by HR. Stay tuned for more details.

• Install windows on the doors leading to the stairwells.

Great idea! These are now in place. (See Safety Snippet on p. 1 of this issue.)

Sensitivity Training Sessions Scheduled This Fall A series of sensitivity training sessions for staff members has been scheduled for September and October to help us all develop the awareness and tools necessary to engage our peers in healthier, more respectful relationships.

The goal of the training is to enhance our workplace culture so that Team Hope members consistently engage each other as unique individuals, each with the capacity to make a difference. All staff members are required to attend one of the following sessions:

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September • Tuesday, September 24, 9 – 11 a.m. and 2 – 4 p.m.

October • Wednesday, October 9, 9 – 11 a.m. and 12 – 2 p.m.

• Tuesday, October 24, 9 – 11 a.m. and 12 – 2 p.m.

• Wednesday, October 30, 4 – 6 p.m. and 8 – 10 p.m.

Look for an e-mail from Human Resources with more information on the training sessions and how to register.

2013

Lifesaving Partners

Selected

Twenty-two individuals, hospitals and health systems have been chosen as 2013 Lifesaving Partners for their outstanding achievement in addressing the critical need for organ and tissue donation.

Each will receive a Lifesaving Partners Award at a special recognition ceremony on October 18.

“Our Lifesaving Partners Award recognizes our many caring and compassionate partners who set the standard — and so often surpass it — in making organ and tissue donation possible,” said Kevin Cmunt, President/CEO of Gift of Hope. “Through the dedicated work of these individuals and organizations — and thousands more working selflessly each day in hospitals, health systems and local communities throughout our service area — we give hope and life to those in need of lifesaving organ and tissue transplants.”

All 2013 Lifesaving Partners Award winners were nominated by Gift of Hope staff members. Here’s a list of honorees:

Hospital and Health System Honorees

Individual Achievement Honorees

• Administration Team, Advocate BroMenn Medical Center

• George Cardenas, 12th Ward Alderman, City of Chicago

• Michelle Black, St. John’s Hospital

• Rob and Lori Chana, Donor Family

• Renee Fasanella, NorthShore University HealthSystem

• Merri Dee, AARP Illinois State President

• Dorene Gysin, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center

• Scott Denton, MD, Forensic Pathologist

• Linda Kraiko, Franciscan St. Margaret Health

• Robyn Deterding, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Dawn LeRoy, Presence Saint Francis Hospital

• Kevin Helmer, Advocates for Hope Volunteer

• Kevin Massey, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital

• Kappa Delta Sorority, Eastern Illinois University

• Organ and Tissue Donation Committee, Franciscan St. Anthony Health

• Charles Kittles, Gift of Hope African-American Task Force

• PICU and OR Staff, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center

• Rob Murphy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Kit Soper, Rockford Health System/Rockford Memorial Hospital

• Kay Rogers, Advocates for Hope Volunteer

• Christy Howard-Steele, Advocate Christ Medical Center • Lynn Ullestad, Carle Foundation Hospital

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Back to School Tour a Rousing Success

Morgan gets a squeeze from a pair of friendly donation supporters during his stop at Fiesta del Sol in Chicago.

About 2,200 University of Illinois students registered as organ and tissue donors at the University’s 2013 Quad Day event held on the Urbana-Champaign campus on August 25, equaling last year’s Guinness World Record-setting total.

As Illinois college students register for school-sponsored clubs, activities and organizations at the start of the new school year, we are also encouraging them to register as organ and tissue donors during our Back to School Tour, a series of donor registration drives scheduled at nearly a dozen Illinois college and university campuses in August and September to coincide with the start of the fall term. We’re applying the lessons learned at our wildly successful Guinness World Record-breaking event held at the University of Illinois’ Quad Day event in August 2012 to register even more donors by expanding our college-focused donation registration drives to other Illinois schools.

“We are amped to get the word out about donation to college students and encourage them to register as organ and tissue donors,” said Public Relations/Marketing Coordinator Josh Muller, who is managing the statewide tour. “We know that many students at Illinois schools are aware of organ and tissue donation and support it, but they have yet to register as donors. We’re making it easy for them to do so by bringing registration to them.”

The Back to School Tour is traversing the length and breadth of Gift of Hope’s service area to spread the word about organ and tissue donation on college campuses and get students to register as lifesaving donors.

So far, it appears the word is being heard. More than 5,000 students have registered to be donors at the tour stops made to date, and, with more tour stops planned, the 6,000 mark is within sight.

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Morgan Sizzles on Summer Tour Our lovable liver mascot, Morgan D’Organ, has been piling up the miles over the last two months, traveling the highways and byways of Illinois and northwest Indiana on his annual Summer Tour to promote organ and tissue donation and donor registration.

During his many summer stops, he’s licked his fingers at Naperville’s Ribfest, hit the campus scene at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and sashayed through Chicago to sample salsa at Fiesta del Sol, walk the donation walk at the Bud Billiken Parade and march through the marketplace at Northalsted Market Days. Yet to come?

A scary stop at the Scarecrow Festival in St. Charles in October.

It’s not all fun and games and slurping sauce off those dirigible-size digits for Morgan.

He’s always on a mission to build awareness of donation and encourage people to register as lifesaving donors. You can see where Morgan’s been and where he’s headed on our Facebook page.

Donate Life Race Car Headed Back to Joliet NASCAR driver Joey Gase is putting his pedal to the metal to raise public awareness of organ and tissue donation and will make a September stop at Chicagoland Speedway to promote the lifesaving cause. Gase, 20, displays the Donate Life logo on his No. 52 NASCAR Nationwide Series car to honor the memory of his mother, Mary Jo, an organ and tissue donor, and spread the word about the need for registered donors. An aneurysm took Mary Jo Gase’s life in 2011, and Joey, at age 18, chose to donate his mother’s organs and tissue to give hope and life to others. To date, Mary Jo’s gifts have helped more than 60 people live or improve their lives.

This year, Donate Life America is sponsoring Gase’s car to support his efforts to place donation top-of-mind among race enthusiasts and others who see his car going 200+ miles per hour around a track. In addition to the Donate Life logo, his car has a picture of a donor on it as well as the Web address of the organ procurement organization serving the area where he’s circling the track. Gase will race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Dollar General 300 on September 14 at Chicagoland Speedway. For more information and to order tickets to the race, visit ChicagolandSpeedway.com.

Advocates Offer Generous Financial Gifts We recently received financial donations totaling $7,500 from two generous donation advocates. The Donna Frett Organ Donation Foundation donated $5,000 to us in memory of Dustin Rozmenoski and Alex Baer, two young men who gave the gift of life through organ donation. Donna, an Advocates for Hope volunteer, received Dustin’s liver in 2005 after his death in a traffic accident at 23. Alex died in a longboarding accident at 16 and gave life to others with his selfless gifts. Donna’s foundation honors Dustin’s gift and legacy and works to raise public awareness of the importance of being a registered donor.

Meanwhile, Atkinson, Ill., residents Bob and Sherry Wechsler presented us with a financial donation of $1,500 to honor the memory of their son, Crist, a donor whose gifts have benefitted more than 100 people since his death in 2004. The financial gift comes from the proceeds of It’s Magic, a cookbook that Bob, a trained chef and former restaurant owner, has published to share his “customer favorite” and many other recipes he has developed over the years.

Bob and Sherry Wechsler presented us with a financial donation of $1,500 to honor the memory of their son, Crist, a donor whose gifts have benefitted more than 100 people since his death in 2004. Dave Bosch, Director of Communications and Legislative Affairs, accepted the donation on the organization’s behalf.

The Wechslers are splitting all book sale profits between Lifesource, the OPO serving Minnesota, and us. Both financial gifts will be used to support our ongoing efforts to educate the public about donation and encourage people to register as donors.

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Donation Seminars Set for Illinois Hospital Professionals We are offering three continuing education seminars for Illinois hospital professionals to help them learn what they can do to celebrate and expand current donation successes, accelerate learning and become more accountable for creating a hopeful future for organ, tissue and cornea donation and transplantation.

Working Together, Changing Lives will be held Friday, September 13, in Champaign, and repeated on Friday, November 8, in Effingham. Life Giving, Life Changing: Donation from Referral to Transplant will be held Monday, September 30, at the Conference Center of Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

The seminars are open to all hospital professionals in our Illinois and northwest Indiana service area. The programs will take attendees on a journey through the process of organ and tissue donation and transplantation and illustrate the full-circle story that shows the important role hospital professionals play in the donation process and how their participation impacts donor families and recipients as the donation and transplantation story moves forward.

Visit the Hospital Professionals section of GiftofHope.org to learn more about the seminar.

Visit GiftofHope.org and Connections to learn more about what’s happening at Gift of Hope.

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