Focus on Service:
In Remembrance & Celebration: Annual Ceremony Offers Healing and Hope.
 Two years ago, Jill Stephenson received the call every soldier's mother dreads. Her 21-year old son, Cpl. Benjamin Kopp, had been killed in Afghanistan while saving six of his fellow Army Rangers. This April, in a heartfelt address at a LifeNet Health In Celebration & Remembrance ceremony in Virginia Beach, Jill talked about her son and the decision to make his death an occasion for life through organ donation.
For the past 20 years, during National Donate Life Month, LifeNet Health has honored the year's donor families and remembered their loved ones with a special celebration ceremony. This year's events were held on April 3 in the Roanoke, VA, April 10 in Richmond, VA, May 1 in Virginia Beach, VA, May 15 in St. Augustine, FL, and May 22 in Pensacola, FL.
Together, the ceremonies drew a combined audience of close to 1,000 which also included donor families from years past as well as healthcare professionals, organ and tissue recipients, LifeNet Health representatives and others who look forward to the camaraderie and support that they find at the annual event. "We believe that true healing takes place in community," says Robin L. Cowherd, Director of Donor Family Services for LifeNet Health. Cowherd says that while every ceremony includes special music, testimonials and donor recognition, each is very personal. This year, attendees heard messages of hope from donor family members as well as words of deep gratitude from recipients whose own lives had been saved or health restored thanks to the gift of organ or tissue donation. In a special tribute, donor recipients handed a single flower to a member from each new donor family who then placed the bloom in a vase brilliant with blooms.
"Concern for the donor family has always been very much a part of the LifeNet Health culture," says Cowherd who joined the organization in 1998 to help develop and grow the Donor Family Services program. Over the years, Cowherd and his team of professionals with backgrounds in social work, counseling, ministry and bereavement support have created one of the most comprehensive networks of donor family support services in the industry. Today, the Donor Family Services team shepherds a careful and caring series of family outreach initiatives that begins almost immediately after the donation gift and continues for a full 18 months and even beyond. The team conducts periodic grief support groups and workshops on loss and grieving. They facilitate the exchange of letters, cards, phone calls and e-mails between donor families and recipients. They will even help coordinate face-to-face meetings if both parties desire.
"LifeNet Health is invested in donor family support because they understand its value and importance to our families," says Cowherd. "It's something we do because of who they are—and because of who we are." A website dedicated to grief support, Healing the Spirit, is yet another example of that care. The site features a comprehensive library of family resource materials, advice, guidance and links to outside helping tools. There's even an online "quilt" where donor family members can write personal messages and reflections that others can view and share. The website is open to the public. Says Cowherd: "Anyone who is grieving the death of a loved one is welcome to find comfort in these resources."
For more information on LifeNet Health Donor Family Services, including an on-site training program to help physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals who deal with those who are grieving or facing loss, go to www.HealingTheSpirit.org or contact your local LifeNet Health Bio-Implant Specialist.
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