Redwood City nurses hold a special connection with patients who become organ and tissue donors because of profound neurologic injuries. After one such experience, Carlos Martinez, RN, a graduate of the ICU Specialty training program, was moved to teach the organ donation session and became a preceptor for subsequent ICU Specialty programs.
Through a partnership with Donor Network West, Redwood City offers an Honor Walk, where staff from all areas of the hospital are able to line the halls to honor patients and their families who make the decision to donate lifesaving organs and tissue. Witnessing the honor walk for his patient shaped his perception of nursing’s role in the transition from critically ill patient to donor. Redwood City also offers a Donate Life flag raising ceremony to families, where hospital staff and security officers gather at the front entrance to the hospital and solemnly observe the Donate Life flag raised in honor of a donor.