CHILLICOTHE, OH (October 8, 2024) – Organ, tissue, and placenta donation has often been called “the gift of life.”

For its role in helping families looking to provide that gift to others, the health system received three award nominations from Lifeline of Ohio as part of the organization’s Champions of Hope recognition program. Intensivist Sam Nobilucci, DO, was nominated in the physician champion category, Adena Regional Medical Center was nominated in the Placenta Hospital Champion category, and Adena OB/GYN was nominated for the second straight year in the OB/GYN Practice Champion category – a category it won a year ago.

The Champions of Hope program is a way for Lifeline of Ohio to recognize hospitals and community partners and affiliates that support its mission of promoting and enhancing organ and tissue donation. This year, 145 nominations were received across 17 categories, more than double the number of nominees received in 2023.

A celebratory gala was held in Columbus over the weekend, and while Adena didn’t come away with any awards, the health system’s attendees left the event inspired by the achievements of their colleagues, reaffirming their commitment to supporting patients’ desires to donate life.

Dr. Nobilucci said Adena’s relationship with Lifeline of Ohio has experienced an organic growth over recent years as like-minded individuals with a love for the community and for patient care have come together. That passion for doing the best they can to uphold the wishes of patients and their families has contributed to the development of that relationship.

“We want to make sure we are handling this precious gift our organ donors are presenting with the utmost compassion and dignity and also making sure we are instituting the most rigorous scientific standards and protocols to make sure we are handling this gift to the best of our ability so it can go to those recipients who are going to benefit from it,” Dr. Nobilucci said.

Kacy Walker, with Lifeline of Ohio, said the compassion and professionalism shown by Dr. Nobilucci and across Adena in general has helped patients who fall victim to tragic circumstances and their families provide that gift of life to others.

A clear divide is kept in place by the two organizations between the patient care and organ donation functions. Lifeline of Ohio has family service staff that helps open the lines of communication with families of potential organ and tissue donors to make sure they understand the donation process.

“We want the families to know the hospital staff is always in there doing everything they can for the patient,” Walker said. “We put the responsibility on our team to have the donation conversation because we want to maintain that dividing line between us and the health care team that has exhausted every avenue and done everything they could in supporting the patient.”