On Friday, November 21, Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC) CEO, Dr. Peggy Naleppa, MS, MBA, FACHE, dedicated a rose on the Donate Life Float in the 2015 Rose Parade in honor of organ and tissue donors and their loved ones. Working with The Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland, Dr. Naleppa expressed her appreciation for the opportunity to honor donors and write a personal message of hope and remembrance in support of organ, eye and tissue donation. “We have been partners with the Living Legacy Foundation for a number of years and every year become prouder of the life-saving efforts that have been achieved through our support of and commitment to organ and tissue donation,” said Dr. Naleppa. “It’s an honor for our PRMC team to join them in bringing national attention to the benefits of donating life.” One of the trademarks of the annual Donate Life float design is a “Dedication Garden” filled with thousands of roses, each placed in a vial carrying a unique, personal message from an individual, family or organization. This year, Donate Life America has offered hospital leaders across the county, including Dr. Naleppa at PRMC, the opportunity to handwrite a dedication on one of those rose vials, which will travel the parade route aboard the float. Watched by 40 million U.S. television viewers, 800,000 parade spectators, and viewers in 150 countries, the Rose Parade is “America’s New Year Celebration” – and an ideal venue to showcase how hospitals across the country make possible the life-saving and healing benefits of organ, eye and tissue donation. This year the theme of the Donate Life float is The Never Ending Story featuring butterflies emerging from storybooks to symbolize the enduring power of organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation. The float is made up of 60 beautiful butterflies emerging from an open book, representing the number of lives transformed by a single deceased donor. The butterflies ascend above 72 volumes adorned with floragraph portraits of deceased donors whose legacies are nurtured by their loved ones. In Maryland, more than 3,600 people are waiting for a life-saving transplant. Nationally, that number exceeds 123,000. Peninsula Regional Medical Center supports The Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland in their mission to save and enhance lives through organ and tissue transplants and educate the public on this important cause. For more information on organ, eye and tissue donation, please visit www.thellf.org
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Photo Caption: PRMC Clinical Quality Specialist and Donor Advocate, Erin Mareck, left, joins PRMC President/CEO, Dr. Peggy Naleppa, center, and Joy Maulik, Critical Care Division Director in support of the Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland. Dr. Naleppa wrote a message of hope on a rose vial that will be included on the Foundation’s 2015 Rose Parade float in Pasadena, California.
