Organ Donor Recipient Recognized for Awareness Efforts

PALM COAST, Fla., May 4, 2016 On April 27, Florida Hospital Flagler recognized Palm Coast resident Cat Bradley with the National Donate Life appreciation award for her efforts in raising awareness about organ donation locally.

Throughout the month of April, the official national Donate Life month, Bradley set up a table at Florida Hospital Flagler, offering information and insight on the importance of organ donation and helping others sign up for Floridas Organ and Tissue Registry.

The importance of this national health observance is a personal one for Bradley.

After an auto-immune disease led to organ failure and a coma, Bradley received a liver transplant that saved her life in 2013 from a 9-year-old boy who died with his mother from injuries suffered in a car accident.

Cat is such an inspiring young woman. With the organ donation she received, she has a second chance at life and is doing great things with this amazing gift, said JoAnne King, Florida Hospital Flagler chief operating officer. She knows firsthand how life-changing an organ donation can be, and through her awareness efforts, she strives to help ensure others in need receive their own gift of an organ as well.

According to Donate Life America, approximately 122,000 Americans are on a waiting list for an organ transplant, and every 10 minutes, another person is added to the list.

Sadly, 22 people die each day about 8,000 people each year - because the organs they need are not donated in time. Only half of the U.S. adult population are registered organ, eye and tissue donors.

If more people become organ donors, we could help save those who die each day, waiting for an organ donation that never comes, said Bradley.

To learn more about national Donate Life month, visit: http://donatelife.net/ndlm/

About Florida Hospital Flagler

Florida Hospital Flagler is a member of Adventist Health System, a faith-based health care organization with 46 hospital campuses and nearly 8,200 licensed beds in 10 states. With 99-beds, Florida Hospital Flagler is one of the six Florida Hospitals in Volusia and Flagler counties that composes the Florida Hospital East Florida Region. As the largest hospital system in the area, the Florida Hospital East Florida Region has 899 beds and nearly 5,900 employees. With a mission to extend the healing ministry of Christ, the Florida Hospital East Florida Region collectively contributed nearly $120 million in benefits in 2015 to the underprivileged, the community's overall health and wellness and spiritual needs, and capital improvements. For more information about Florida Hospital Flagler, visit www.FloridaHospitalFlagler.com.

Photo Caption:
On April 27, Florida Hospital Flagler recognized Palm Coast resident Cat Bradley with the National Donate Life appreciation award for her efforts in raising awareness about organ donation locally. Throughout the month of April, the official national Donate Life month, Bradley set up a table at Florida Hospital Flagler, offering information and insight on the importance of organ donation and helping others sign up for Floridas Organ and Tissue Registry. From left to right: Florida Hospital Flagler chief of staff anesthesiologist Dr. Glenn Zimmet, Florida Hospital Flagler chief medical officer Dr. Ronald Thomas, Bradley, Florida Hospital Flagler chief operating officer JoAnne King, Florida Hospital Flagler chief nursing officer Robert Davis, Florida Hospital Flagler volunteer Elaine Goncalves, and TransLife, Organ and Tissue Donation Services hospital and professional services coordinator Tonia Braddock.