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Suburban Community Hospital Flies Flag to Honor Donors
April is National Donate Life Month
East Norriton, PA (April 5, 2023) – In honor of National Donate Life Month in April, Suburban Community Hospital held their annual flag-raising ceremony on April 6, as part of the Gift of Life organ donor awareness initiative. The event honored past, present, and future organ, eye, and tissue donors and donors in spirit.
According to the PA Donate Life website, more than 118,000 people in the United States are waiting for a transplant, and hundreds of thousands are waiting for life-enhancing tissue transplants. In Pennsylvania alone, more than 7,000 people are on the waiting list.
Michael Motte, Chief Executive Officer, Suburban Community Hospital, welcomed everyone and shared why the hospital participates in Donate Life Month. “During April, hospitals across the nation celebrate Donate Life Month to honor donors and their families and raise awareness,” said Motte. “I would like to thank everyone attending this wonderful event, especially Gift of Life, for helping families find hope and courage during the most difficult time.”
Those who attended the ceremony heard remarks from Motte; Commissioner Joseph Gale of Montgomery County; Tameka Childs-Wolfe, Coordinator, Gift of Life Program; and Sally Reed an ambassador for the Gift of Life Donor Program.
“Many lives have been saved by those who have generously donated an organ to someone in need. In many cases, organ, tissue, and eye donations cement the legacy of the donor by turning a tragic event into a lifesaving opportunity,” said Commissioner Gale. “We are proud to honor these heroes and the families who have supported their wishes.”
“Suburban Community Hospital has a long-standing commitment to the highest standards in donation and transplantation,” said Childs-Wolfe. “We have always valued our partnership with the hospital for promoting organ donation, and we ask everyone to join us in helping to raise awareness and inspiring others.”
“Organ and tissue donation not only benefits transplant patients. It can bring peace to a donor’s family. My son was one of them,” said Reed. “The Gift of Life Donor Program comforts grieving families as donors give life to others.”
Commissioner Gale added, “The partnership with Suburban Community Hospital and Montgomery County is a great way to further our involvement in organ donation.”
“Throughout Donate Life Month, Suburban Community Hospital will illuminate blue and green lights to help raise awareness about the growing need for organ donations,” said Kristen Piano, Patient Experience Manager, Suburban Community Hospital. “Every year, thousands of lives are saved because of organ transplantation; this wouldn’t be possible without the selfless sacrifices of individuals willing to share the gift of life by becoming organ donors.”
Blue and green are recognized colors of the Donate Life brand, symbolizing the sky and earth and how they have intertwined through donation and the circle of life. Organ, eye, and tissue donation represents life and living, a selfless gift and compassion for humanity.
Piano added, “This flag is a symbol — a reminder that despair does not win the day. “Every time the flag is raised, may we know that love lives on.”
The hospital’s flag-raising ceremony supports those on the transplant waiting lists and honors organ and tissue donors and their families. During the ceremony, Motte shared support for organ and tissue donation.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, a special blue and green flag was raised outside the hospital to serve as a constant reminder of the precious gift of life – and the importance of choosing organ and tissue donation.
To learn more about organ and tissue donation and transplantation, visit www.donors1.org .
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About Suburban Community Hospital: Suburban Community Hospital is a not-for-profit, acute care hospital, and a member of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. For over 65 years, Suburban Community Hospital has been delivering quality healthcare to Montgomery County and the surrounding region. Suburban Community Hospital, originally named Riverview Hospital, opened in 1944. Chartered at 740 Sandy Street in Norristown, PA, Riverview Osteopathic Hospital would provide medical and surgical services to the sick, afflicted, and injured, and would educate persons in the care and nursing. As part of Prime Healthcare Services, headquartered in Ontario, California, Suburban Community Hospital is focused on becoming one of the leaders in technology.
Prime Healthcare is an award-winning hospital management company operating 45 acute care hospitals in 14 states, including Roxborough Memorial Hospital in Philadelphia, Lower Bucks Hospital in Bucks County, and Suburban Community Hospital in Montgomery County.
About Prime Healthcare and Prime Healthcare Foundation: Prime Healthcare is an award-winning health system operating 45 hospitals and more than 300 outpatient locations in 14 states, providing over 2.6 million patient visits annually. It is one of the nation’s leading health systems with nearly 50,000 employees and physicians dedicated to providing the highest quality healthcare. Fourteen of the Prime Healthcare hospitals are members of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity. Based in Ontario, California, Prime Healthcare is nationally recognized for award-winning quality care and has been named a Top 10 and Top 15 Health System by IBM Watson Health. Its hospitals have been named among the nation’s “100 Top Hospitals” 58 times and have received more Patient Safety Excellence Awards from Healthgrades than any other health system in the past six years. To learn more, please visit www.primehealthcare.com
Gift of Life Donor Program is the non-profit, federally designated organ procurement organization, working with 129 acute care hospitals and 14 transplant centers to serve 11.3 million people in the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware. Thanks to its compassionate community, for the past 14 years, Gift of Life has coordinated the most organ donors in the United States. Its annual donation rate, most recently 62 organ donors-per-million-population, ranks among the highest in the world. Since 1974, Gift of Life has coordinated more than 55,000 organs for transplant, and more than two million tissue transplants have resulted from the generosity of donors and their families. One organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people, and a tissue donor can improve the lives of more than 100 others. For more information or to register, visit donors1.org .