A tree planting ceremony to honor organ donors and recipients will be
held May 18 in Broken Bow at the east side of the lake in Melham Park as
part of "The Tree of Life" campaign being sponsored by the University
of Nebraska Medical Center and the Nebraska Health System.
A total of 22 Nebraska cities will hold tree-planting events over the
next 12 months as part of the campaign, which is designed to raise the
awareness level for organ donation. The Broken Bow event is open to the
public and will begin at 1 p.m.
Participants in the tree-planting event will include top city officials,
students in the Broken Bow High School advanced science class taught by
Darrell Sybrant, as well as several Broken Bow area organ recipients and
families who have donated a loved one’s organs. Gibson’s in Broken Bow
will donate and plant the tree. A permanent plaque will be planted at the
base of the tree commemorating the event.
In conjunction with the tree-planting event, an educational presentation
on organ donation will be made at 2 p.m. in the Jennie M. Melham Memorial
Medical Center cafeteria. This also is open to the public. The "Tree
of Life" symbolizes the new life organ donation has brought to those
who were dying from end-stage organ failure and those who have given the
"gift of life," said Kolleen Thompson, organ procurement coordinator
for the Nebraska Health System and one of the coordinators of the campaign.
Other communities holding ceremonies for "The Tree of Life"
campaign include: Ainsworth, Beatrice, Chadron, Columbus, Fremont, Grand
Island, Hastings, Holdrege, Kearney, Lincoln, McCook, Nebraska City, Norfolk,
North Platte, Sidney, Omaha, O’Neill, Scottsbluff, South Sioux City, Valentine
and York.
In each community, organ donors and recipients and their families have
been invited to attend. They may participate in the ceremony by giving
a personal testimonial, reading an original poem or singing a song. These
ceremonies will highlight the importance of organ donation. City officials
also have been asked to participate.
"The decision for organ and tissue donation comes at a time when
a family begins to realize their lives will continue without someone they
love," said Thompson. "It takes true courage and compassion to
donate your loved one’s organs. The new life that results for the organ
recipient is something that will never be forgotten."
The campaign will help UNMC and NHS create awareness of The Lied Transplant
Center, which is scheduled to open at the end of this year on the UNMC/NHS
campus. The 14-level building will feature 44 patient care suites as well
as considerable space devoted to transplant research.
Patients staying at the center will be part of an innovative cooperative
care delivery system in which family or friends serve as care partners
for the basic care needs of patients receiving solid organ or bone marrow
transplants. Despite UNMC/NHS’s stature as a leading transplant center,
Nebraska only ranks No. 24 among all states in producing donors based on
population, said Byers W. Shaw, Jr., M.D., professor and chairman of the
UNMC Department of Surgery and an organ transplant surgeon.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state.
Through its commitment to research, education and patient care, UNMC has
established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for cancer research
and treatment and solid organ transplantation. More than $25 million in
research grants and contracts are awarded to UNMC scientists annually.
In addition, UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for training more
health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.
NHS is the partnership of Clarkson Hospital, the oldest hospital in
Nebraska, and University Hospital, the primary teaching facility for UNMC.
NHS operates 29 clinics and health care centers serving Omaha, Plattsmouth,
Gretna and Auburn in Nebraska; Council Bluffs and Shenandoah in Iowa. In
addition, NHS operates more than 350 outpatient clinics in 50 communities
in four states.
The combined NHS system serves approximately 25 percent of the Omaha-area
market share.
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