Becomes first OPO to receive highest-level award from MAAPE

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 19, 2017 – Today, the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) became the first organ procurement organization to receive the Excellence Award from the Mid-Atlantic Alliance for Performance Excellence (MAAPE), its highest-level award.

MAAPE is one of 31 regional and state Baldrige-based awards programs that helps all types of organizations improve performance and outcomes, including productivity, workforce engagement, competitiveness, and customer and stakeholder satisfaction. Its process is modeled after the leading-edge Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, globally recognized as the standard for organizational excellence.

“We are honored to receive this prestigious award, which is a testament to our staff’s unwavering commitment to save and enhance lives, while living our values of organization integrity and
compassion,” said Susan Stuart, president and CEO, CORE. “Each day we transform lives by bridging the gap between donor families and transplant candidates. We are thankful for our solid, trusting relationships with donor hospitals and physicians as well as strong collaborations with local and regional transplant centers, which help us achieve our mission.”

CORE’s journey to the award included a 50-page response to the criteria, a two-day site visit by seven independent examiners and a comprehensive scoring of all application criteria. With the win, CORE is now eligible to apply to the national Baldrige Program, which oversees the nation’s only Presidential award for performance excellence.

“We are proud to recognize CORE for its performance excellence and outcomes that enable it to deliver the gift of hope through organ, tissue and cornea donation,” said Bob Bitner, president and CEO, MAAPE. “By completing our process based on the Baldrige Framework, they are positioned to continue their journey toward national performance excellence recognition.”

CORE will formally receive the award during MAAPE’s 12th annual Conference and Awards Banquet being held at 6 p.m. Nov. 15 at the Desmond Hotel in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Additional event and conference details are available on MAAPE’s website.

Nearly 117,000 people nationwide are waiting for a life-saving transplant. CORE’s objective is to prevent the approximately 21 deaths that occur each day due to the lack of available organs. Just one donor can save up to eight lives and enhance those of 75 more. In 2016, 237 donors saved or enhanced 663 lives through transplants in CORE’s service area.

About CORE
The Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) is one of 58 federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the United States. CORE works closely with donor families and designated healthcare professionals to coordinate the surgical recovery of organs, tissue and corneas for transplantation. CORE also facilitates the computerized matching of donated organs and placement of corneas. With headquarters in Pittsburgh and an office in Charleston, West Virginia, CORE oversees a region that encompasses 163 hospitals and almost six million people throughout western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Chemung County, New York. For more information, visit www.core.org or call 1-800-DONORS-7.