ST. LOUIS (June 7, 2016) – Today, the Mid-America Transplant Foundation presented two donations totaling $42,250 to CoxHealth and Mercy Hospital Springfield. The donations were made in memory of two of Mid-America Transplant’s long-time board members who were associated with the health systems: Dr. Thomas Briggs, a neurological surgeon at CoxHealth, and Dr. Robert Saylor, a nephrologist who more recently served as the director of ethics at Mercy. Both physicians passed away in December 2015. 

“Both Dr. Briggs and Dr. Saylor were instrumental in elevating Mid-America Transplant as a leading organ and tissue procurement organization,” said Diane Brockmeier, president and CEO at Mid-America Transplant. “They were deeply passionate about our mission to save lives through excellence in organ and tissue donation, and shared that message with their patients and communities. We will greatly miss them on our board, but take comfort in celebrating their memory by supporting new initiatives that will carry on their workplace passions.”

Mid-America Transplant worked alongside CoxHealth and Mercy to identify the best use for funds donated in the doctors’ honor. At CoxHealth, a $17,250 donation will establish the Dr. Thomas Briggs Endowed Scholarship fund for registered nurses in the fields of trauma and neuro-critical care, Dr. Briggs’ area of expertise, to help them pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing. At Mercy, a $25,000 donation will be used to create the Saylor Educational Program to provide training for physicians, nurses and hospital leadership in the area of healthcare ethics, furthering Dr. Saylor’s own work. 

“With his comforting manner, Bob Saylor could always lead our patients’ families through the tough decisions that come with critical diagnoses,” said Dr. Alan Scarrow, president of Mercy Springfield Communities. “He was a mentor to numerous co-workers who knew they could count on him for solid advice that put our patients’ welfare first. We’re so pleased we will have a designated fund that will continue offering the training he was so skilled at providing.”

“Dr. Briggs was a valuable, revered and respected member of CoxHealth’s medical community, and is missed by many,” says Ron Prenger, senior vice president and CHO for CoxHealth. “It is an honor to have this scholarship available, which will both preserve his memory and continue his legacy through the work of others.” 

A board-certified neurological surgeon, Dr. Briggs was a founding physician of Springfield Neurological Institute and served as medical director at the DermaHealth Laser and Skin Care Clinic at the time of his death. As a physician, Dr. Briggs worked diligently to educate physicians and nurses on neurological issues and procedures, and was a strong advocate for organ and tissue donation, serving more than 15 years on the board of directors at Mid-America Transplant. He passed away on Dec. 24, 2015, after a lifelong battle with heart problems. 

Dr. Saylor spent many years caring for patients with end-stage renal disease at Springfield Nephrology and later led Mercy’s ethics department. In this role, he worked closely with doctors and nurses, as well as directly with patients and their families, to address challenging questions about life, death and the role of medical intervention. He saw firsthand the lifesaving impact of kidney transplant, and developed a deep passion for organ donation. He joined the board of Mid-America Transplant in 1992 and served as part of the executive committee from 2001 until his death on Dec. 28, 2015. While his aggressive brain cancer made it impossible to donate his organs, he was able to donate his corneas to provide the gift of sight to a patient in need. 

About Mid-America Transplant
Mid-America Transplant enables adults and children to receive lifesaving gifts through organ and tissue donations. For more than 40 years, it has facilitated and coordinated organ and tissue donation, and now serves 84 counties covering eastern Missouri, southern Illinois and northeast Arkansas that together are home to 4.7 million people. It saves lives by providing expert and compassionate care for organ donors, recipients and families, and transforms the clinical processes required to recover and transplant organs and tissues. Mid-America Transplant was the first such organization in the U.S. to use an in-house operating room for organ recovery and pioneered innovative models of increasing donor registry enrollment in an effort to provide organs and tissues to those in need. It is federally designated as one of 58 such organizations in the U.S., and is the first organ procurement organization to be recognized as a recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence. 

The Mid-America Transplant Foundation seeks to reduce the need for organ and tissue transplantation; increase the availability of organs and tissues for those who need them; and to improve the lives of recipients and donor families.  

on Mid-America Transplant and the donation and transplantation industry. 

Diane is a collaborative and authentic leader who naturally and genuinely connects with people. She’s inspired by donor families, transplant patients, medical professionals, and the employees at Mid-America Transplant. But as you’ll see in the question-and-answers below, Diane’s passion for our mission – Saving Lives Through Excellence in Organ and Tissue Donation – is what motivates her to lead Mid-America Transplant, which comes off an exceptional year in which we achieved record performance for organ and tissue donation and the organization received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

To provide more insight into her motivation and personality, Diane took a few minutes to answer a few questions for the Corporate Communications department. Here is what she had to say:

How did you start at Mid-America?
I responded to a newspaper article in Cape Girardeau. Mid-America was looking for a coordinator to be housed in the Cape area to do organ and tissue donation work in the southern part of the service area. The position was funded through a grant from CMS, so it was a one-year opportunity. I interviewed for the position and was awarded the job. I did hospital development, clinical call, tissue recovery, cornea preservation, public education … we did a little bit of everything. It ended up being a great primer (for the President and CEO role) when we talk about enterprise-wide knowledge. When you’ve lived and grown up in the enterprise, it gives you a broad perspective.

Did you ever imagine you would become CEO at Mid-America?
No thought at all. When I started, I thought the mission was a really cool thing to be a part of. And that’s stuck for 30 years. This mission has never lost its appeal to me.

What has been the most exciting aspect of your first 100 days as President and CEO?
The Quest for Excellence Conference, where we received the Baldrige award. I remember working with (consultant) Mac Maguire, and he said to us, “One day, you’ll have the chance to put organ and tissue donation on the national stage.” And we did just that. 

At the award ceremony, when the room was dark and they were calling out our names, they said, “Ladies and gentlemen, the role model organizations for the United States of America.” I still get goosebumps. That was the highlight of the week.

How has your family impacted your professional career?
When I first said I wanted to go to nursing school, I was 16 years old. My dad said to me, “You know, there are two kinds of nurses. All the nurses know how to take your blood pressure, but only a few nurses get you the cup of coffee when you’re sitting up all night with someone who is sick. I want you to be that kind of nurse.” He has a story about being in the hospital with my granddad when his hip was broken. All the nurses would come in and do their job, but not everyone took the time to show you that extra bit of kindness. That was a big influence on my career. I don’t know how many cups of coffee I offered, but it was a lot because my daddy said so.

What are the unique challenges of leading Mid-America Transplant?
The unique challenges for an organization this size – and most important decisions for me personally – are all of those that deal with the people and the future of the organization. Many of those are internal things we have control over: Ensuring we have great benefits, trying to have transparent communication, and taking care of our people. Some of those decisions are managing the uncharted waters like the proposed broader allocation for livers. So what I do and how I’m involved with those national decisions ultimately impacts our people, our community, and how organs are shared here. If you make these decisions with the thought of the people in your heart, you’ll usually end up at the right decision.

That may be participating in an innovation committee or being interviewed during a Baldrige visit. That participation is outside, in some ways, of the scope of traditional work but creates those opportunities for innovative ideas. I want to create a culture of lifelong learners, which feeds innovation. Knowledge is key to innovation, and you gain knowledge by learning from other people.

Personally, I’ve served on the Standards and Accreditation Committee and several other UNOS committees over my tenure. I have visited other OPOs and observed what others do; I’ve attended national meetings and had the opportunity to speak. These experiences have validated, for me, that we do have the best organization. But I never fail to learn something. I think that’s a key: Recognizing that as good as we are, we can still learn from others.  

Describe your personal connection to donation.
Donation is an everyday word in our house. Our blended family has had five personal experiences with tissue donation. I think this has given me some insight. I’ve not lost my own child, and I wasn’t married to my daughter Natalie’s dad when he died, but watching them go through the process has given me a deep understanding about how it impacts people. Donation has been a godsend for Natalie. Her dad could be a hero. It’s a personal mantra for her, and she is inspired by our mission. 

What fun facts would you like us to know about your family?
We are St. Louis Blues and Kansas City Chiefs fans. My favorite sport is basketball; I love Kansas Jayhawks basketball. We love both so much that we have a Christmas tree we put up every year decorated half Chiefs and half Jayhawks. And we have a big moose of a Newfoundland dog, named Delaney.

I enjoy scrapbooking; I’m an avid reader; and I’m involved in my church and my daughter’s sorority Mom’s Club. 

What do you see on the horizon at Mid-America Transplant?
I see an organization with much continued success that will be an industry leader many years into the future. Our innovation and aptitude will ensure that. We’ll have some rough spots, as far as working through broader sharing of organs and working through what that does to our community. But mostly, I see sunshine. We’re poised to do great things as we come off the Baldrige recognition and a record year. Our remarkable leadership team and workforce will make that happen.

On a personal level, I’d be thrilled to know we have another record year of saving lives, and we’re able to do that with the highest levels of staff engagement we’ve ever had. I want people to feel really good about working here. Is everyone going to be happy every single day? No. None of us are. But I want to capture what is important to people and work to make those things come about.

“As we’ve reflected on what the Baldrige award means to our organization and to donation and transplantation, it’s important to recognize the roles of those who support organ and tissue donation and make our work possible,” Kappel said. “Without our mission-driven staff, our professional partners and the donors and donor families who selflessly give the Gift of Life, Mid-America Transplant would have never had the opportunity to be recognized as a Baldrige Award recipient. They made this moment possible for us. More importantly, they make tomorrow possible for countless organ, eye and tissue recipients.” 

“We are honored to be recognized as a role model organization,” said Brockmeier. “In addition to the hard work and dedication of our entire team, receiving this very special acknowledgement would not be possible without the generosity by donors and their families to complete strangers.” 

Mid-America Transplant’s Baldrige journey has spanned more than 10 years.

When the organization began utilizing the Baldrige criteria in 2003, Mid-America Transplant helped save the lives of 300 people annually. In 2015, more than 600 people received lifesaving organs through Mid-America Transplant. 

“Over the course of 12 years, we began our journey with applications to our state program followed by eight Baldrige applications, five site visits, and two Missouri Quality Awards,” Kappel told 700 people in attendance. “Now, we are honored to stand before you as a 2015 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winner.”

“Our staff works every day at the intersection of death and new life,” Kappel continued. “They are there to support a grieving family, facilitate the medical management of potential donors, and, ultimately, partner with recovery surgeons for the removal and subsequent transplant of organs and tissues. If there ever was a work that required the systematic approach the Baldrige criteria provides, this is it.”

To date, more than 1,600 U.S. organizations have applied for the Baldrige Award, and there are more than 30 independent Baldrige-based state and regional award programs covering nearly all 50 states. Internationally, the program has served as a model for nearly 100 excellence programs. In addition, many organizations use the Baldrige framework for its improvement and innovation strategies without applying for any of these awards.

The Baldrige Program raises awareness about the importance of performance excellence in driving the U.S. and global economy; provides organizational assessments, training, tools and criteria; educates leaders in businesses, schools, health care organizations, and government and nonprofit organizations; shares the best practices of national role models; and recognizes those role models with the Baldrige Award.

The Baldrige Award was established by Congress in 1987 and is not given for specific products or services. Since the first group was recognized in 1988, 109 awards have been presented to 102 organizations (including seven repeat recipients).

For more information, visit the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program website. 

Mid-America Transplant was named a recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in November 2015 after a 10-year journey. LOPA is among about 10 organ procurement organizations following Mid-America’s lead in pursuing the Baldrige Business Model, which promotes the awareness of performance excellence and the sharing of best practices.

Kappel, who retired in January after 30 years of leading Mid-America’s efforts to save lives, will be among those attending in April the Quest for Excellence conference, where the organization will receive the 2016 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.    

“After conducting a nationwide search and considered more than 130 candidates, we unanimously selected Diane based on her impressive experience in quality improvement and strategic leadership,” said Robert Bezanson, chairman of the Mid-America Transplant Board of Directors. “Diane brings deep expertise and an unwavering compassion for the families and communities we serve through organ and tissue donation. We are confident that her strong track record of innovation and performance excellence will continue to propel Mid-America Transplant forward as a national leader in organ and tissue procurement.”

Since joining Mid-America Transplant as a nurse in 1986, Brockmeier has held a number of clinical and administrative roles at the organ procurement organization (OPO), most recently serving as executive vice president and COO for more than 12 years. In this role, she oversaw partnerships for more than 120 hospitals and transplant centers located throughout eastern Missouri, northeast Arkansas and southern Illinois.

Brockmeier is nationally recognized for her collaborative efforts to establish key quality benchmarks and enhance organ and tissue donation recovery, quality and processing. Strategically, Brockmeier was the driving force in implementing several innovative best practices over the past several years, including the design and construction of a first-in-the-nation, on-site surgical suite for organ recovery. Brockmeier enhanced the initial vision to include on-site catheterization and CT scanning, which resulted in enhanced quality control and convenience for donor hospitals and surgeons. She also championed the establishment of OPO-operated driver’s license bureaus in the state of Missouri, leading to an increase in the number of people who sign up for the state donor registry. The two projects are now shared as best practice examples nationwide.

2015 marked several important milestones for Mid-America Transplant, including the completion of 618 lifesaving organ transplants, a record for the organization. In November, Mid-America Transplant was named a 2015 recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence. This prestigious award recognizes the organization for its ability to serve the community by saving lives through increased organ and tissue donations, and marks the first time an organ procurement organization has been named a Baldrige recipient.

“Diane was instrumental in driving organizational changes and process improvements that earned Mid-America Transplant this honor,” said Kappel. “Her close collaboration with hospitals and transplant centers and her unwavering commitment to excellence has enabled us to provide the greatest quality and care to organ donors, recipients and their families.”

Under Brockmeier’s leadership, Mid-America Transplant also has been a two-time recipient of the Missouri Quality Award for operational performance. Brockmeier’s collaborative team-building approach has been integral in fostering a culture of employee engagement earning Mid-America Transplant rankings as a “Best-in-Class” employer by Avatar Solutions and a St. Louis Post Dispatch “Top Workplace” in 2015.

“It has been a privilege to work alongside Dean over the past three decades to establish Mid-America Transplant as one of the most innovative organ procurement organizations in the United States,” said Brockmeier. “I’m honored to carry on the legacy he has created, and I look forward to working with the board, our partners and our communities as we begin the next chapter of Mid-America Transplant.”

Dean F. Kappel was named President Emeritus of Mid-America Transplant upon his retirement as President and Chief Executive Officer on February 1.  The distinction of Emeritus is often used in business to denote the perpetual status of an individual who led an organization to new heights. Kappel’s career at Mid-America Transplant is known for innovations and industry firsts, propelling the organization to national recognition.

He led the organization for almost 30 years. Kappel’s visionary leadership positioned Mid-America Transplant to be the first organ procurement organization (OPO) to recover organs and tissues at its own on-site surgical suite. This career-defining innovation subsequently has been adopted by several OPOs nationwide.

Other innovations under Kappel’s leadership include operating a DMV license office, on-site catheterization lab and CT scanner, and the first OPO to earn the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.  

This year, we’re excited to debut our new name and look, which puts our lifesaving mission front and center.

Since 1974, we’ve saved lives by ensuring that organs and tissues are always available to those in need. In 2016, we’re updating our name and brand to put our lifesaving mission front and center.

We are Mid-America Transplant
For years, our partners and community knew us as “MTS” — an acronym that said little about what we actually do. Now, we’re reworking our name and brand to clarify our purpose as an organization: to make more lifesaving transplants a reality through organ and tissue donation.