“I truly believe that donation gives families a chance to bring something very positive out of a very negative experience. You have to have that basic belief to make donation programs successful,” explains Vickie Hatzenbeller, R.N., manager of the intensive care unit at Benefis Healthcare in Great Falls, Montana.

Benefis organ and tissue donation committee includes (left to right): Paul Buck, Northwest Lions Eye Bank; Vickie Hatzenbeller, ICU manager and committee program coordinator; Peter Lucas, ER trauma coordinator; Renee Murphree, medical staff secretary; Patty Jo Johnston, LifeCenter Northwest; Jan Hendrix, Tissue Services regional supervisor; Dr. Thomas Rosenbaum, committee chairman; Joe Dalton, pastoral care; Dennis Lott, OR manager.

Along with other dedicated staff in different departments, Hatzenbeller has acted on her beliefs for nearly 20 years now, serving on the hospital’s organ and tissue donation committee since its inception. As the committee’s current program coordinator, she has worked to make the donation process run as smoothly and compassionately as possible.

Dennis Lott, committee member and operating room director, says, “I think there has been a pattern of support over the years. Benefis has been in the forefront of recovery. That’s what we do. It’s a cradle-to-the- grave mission. When we see tragedy, we try to make good out of the bad. It’s in everybody’s psyche. That’s what we’re here for.”

The committee educates hospital staff in the many departments involved in donation, regularly reevaluating policies and procedures to facilitate donation, and establishing community awareness programs.

Dialogue creates donation “experts”
Through the many changes both in the hospital and donation environment in the last two decades, the Benefis donation committee has continued to meet bimonthly. Members include representatives from donation agencies, pastoral care, pathology, patient care services, emergency and intensive care departments, and physicians. Members are “experts” who act as advocates and resources for anyone with questions about donation.

“I have been proud to be associated with the organ/tissue recovery committee,” says nephrologist Thomas Rosenbaum, M.D., committee chair. “Recovery efforts in Great Falls have been much more effective as a result of the cooperation demonstrated by this committee.”

“I am continually impressed by the members’ ability to respect each others’ opinions, and yet work closely as a team,” says Jan Hendrix, Northwest Tissue Services’s regional supervisor in Montana. “I hope that the cooperation at Benefis in Great Falls might encourage other hospitals to follow its example not only in internal communications but also in donation in general.”

“Benefis has been in the forefront of recovery. That’s what we do. It’s a cradle-to-the-grave mission.”
–Dennis Lott,
Benefis O.R. director

Recently, a representative of the Cascade County coroner’s office has also joined the committee, opening “an entirely new dialogue between the hospital, donation programs and the coroner’s office,” explains Hendrix. “Lt. Jim Bruckner has been able to address many of our questions.”

Much has changed since the committee was formed. For one, the two hospitals originally involved, Montana Deaconess and Columbus, have merged to become Benefis Healthcare. As donation efforts have become more formalized through the development of the Tissue Services, Northwest Lions Eye Bank, and LifeCenter Northwest, the committee has enacted plans to streamline the donation process, implement national standards and ensure that the hospital complies with legislative requirements.

Strong staff support
Hatzenbeller believes that the emphasis on donation has been well-received. “I can’t say enough about the staff,” she comments. “Their support of families is tremendous. They recognize that even at the time of death, there can be compassionate support for the family through donation.

“For example, we have an expiration checklist for nursing staff that includes the phone number for the donor referral line. We meet regulatory requirements, but we also help staff in a very comprehensive procedural way in the midst of a stressful, difficult and often-heartbreaking situation.

“In addition, any time we have an aberrancy in our process, we follow through. We try to identify weak points and evaluate how we can improve.”

Hatzenbeller also credits the trained designator requester program with improving her hospital’s ability to communicate the option of donation. Trained designated requestors are educated by donation agencies to offer the option of tissue and cornea donation to families. “That’s the beauty of a team,” Hatzenbeller explains. “Some people are comfortable doing this and some people aren’t.”

Donation comes full circle in Great Falls. In surgeries at Benefis, patients receive allograft tissue. Understanding NTC’s recovery process gives Lott, the O.R. director, added confidence in his services.

One indication of how well the organ and tissue committee has done its job of educating the local community about donation is a trend that Hatzenbeller has noticed in recent years.

“Families are much more in tune with the option of donation than they used to be. It’s not infrequent that the family will bring up donation when they find out that there’s a possibility the outcome won’t be what they hoped for their loved one. They bring it up early, they’ve had a prior discussion with their loved one.”