Long Beach Memorial Among Two Hospitals in Los Angeles and Orange Counties Awarded U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Highest Honors for Saving Lives Through Organ Donations

LONG BEACH, Calif., July 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recognized Long Beach Memorial with its Gold Medal of Honor—one of just two hospitals in Los Angeles and Orange counties and only eight in California honored for remarkable efforts in saving lives through organ donations.

As part of its national Workplace Partnership for Life Campaign, the Gold Medal is awarded to hospitals with organ donation rates greatly exceeding national standards. Long Beach Memorial's integrated practices for donations means more lives can be saved through organ transplants.

"This recognition reflects the success of our OneLegacy partnership and tremendous efforts of our hospital staff dedicated to saving and enhancing lives," says Diana Hendel, PharmD, CEO, Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach and Community Hospital Long Beach. "Thanks to the generosity of donor families and registered donors, we are honored to help answer the needs of 123,000 people nationwide awaiting life-saving transplants." The hospital works closely with the One Legacy local organ procurement organization, a Donate Life America affiliate, to educate and register new donors. In 2013, California organ donors saved 3,000 lives and improved thousands more with eye and tissue donations.

Long Beach Memorial's sister facility, Miller Children's, was one of 22 children's hospitals across the U.S. and only one in a six-county region recognized with an HHS gold medal for excellence in organ donations, plus the only California hospital additionally honored with a Pediatric Distinction Award. Long Beach Memorial, along with Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach, is the West's second largest hospital campus.

Long Beach Memorial is among 3% of U.S. hospitals to receive a prestigious national clinical ranking by U.S. News & World Report in 2014. It ranks #7 among Los Angeles Metro's top hospitals in Los Angeles and Orange counties—the only hospital in Southern Los Angeles County and the South Bay to achieve this honor. The region's first choice for comprehensive care in virtually every medical and surgical specialty, Long Beach Memorial has been providing compassionate care with the latest state-of-the-art technology for more than 100 years. Its Centers of Excellence continually receive national accolades. MemorialCare Todd Cancer Institute, home to Todd Cancer Pavilion, has received national honors for MemorialCare Breast Center and Gynecologic Oncology Program and Mercury Award as the Southland's Top Cancer Center. MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute, one of the state's largest and most prominent, is home to pioneering technologies and techniques, including the Hybrid Imaging Suite combining diagnostics, catheterization laboratory capabilities and surgical functions in one location. Centers of Excellence also include MemorialCare Rehabilitation, Orthopedic and Neuroscience Institutes; Stroke Program, MemorialCare Joint Replacement Center; and the state's largest Emergency Department and Regional Trauma Center. The Chest Pain Center—one of the first two in the U.S.—has frequently been rated "the safest place to survive a heart attack."

MemorialCare Health System, a not-for-profit Southern California integrated delivery system and pioneer in evidence-based medicine, has 200 care sites, 11,400 employees, 2,600 affiliated physicians; six hospitals—Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach, Community Hospital Long Beach, Orange Coast Memorial in Fountain Valley and Saddleback Memorial Medical Center Laguna Hills and San Clemente; MemorialCare Medical Group; Greater Newport Physicians/GNP; Seaside Health Plan; ambulatory surgery centers; and imaging, outpatient and urgent care facilities. MemorialCare is consistently named among 35 employers globally receiving the prestigious Gallup Great Workplace Award.

SOURCE Long Beach Memorial