OCH Regional Medical Center’s Chief Nursing Officer Martha Fulcher was recently awarded Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency’s (MORA) top honor at the 4th Annual Spero Awards.
Fulcher received the Award of Distinction on Thursday for her service to MORA and leadership in the healthcare system.
MORA CEO Kevin Stump presented the award to Fulcher and credited her for MORA’s ability to connect with larger health systems.
“When I arrived in Mississippi in 1992 with the directive to revitalize the organ procurement organization, I did not understand the magnitude of the task that lay ahead,” Stump said.
Stump said the first six months to one year of meeting with hospitals to outline the strategic plan to transform MORA into a professional service organization was a challenge.
“Our phone calls would sometimes go unreturned, and in one situation, we were even escorted out of a hospital. Martha was one of the first people willing to meet with us," Stump said. "She was a shining light of encouragement and even reached out to other hospitals to open doors for us."
Fulcher recalled the day when Stump came to OCH to meet with her and what that meant for the hospital and community.
“I knew how important this program was to not only my local community but also our state, so we were excited to help ‘get the ball rolling’ in Starkville,” Fulcher said.
Fulcher was also nominated for the Hospital Leadership of the Year award.
OCH was also recognized during the ceremony for reaching the silver level of the Mississippi Hospitals for Hope campaign, which was developed to raise awareness for the need of organ, eye and tissue donation and increase registrations.