St. Dominic’s Team Member Honored with Spero Award

April 22, 2024

 Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA) presented St. Dominic Hospital and David Shrock, Physician Assistant with St. Dominic Hospital Medicine with a Spero Award during a flag-raising event recognizing National Donate Life Month.   

 "As a ministry and a hospital, St. Dominic’s is the setting for many significant moments in the lives of the patients and families we serve," said Jeremy Tinnerello, St. Dominic's President. "Throughout the year, St. Dominic Hospital supports honor walks and raises the MORA flag to recognize individual gifts of organ and tissue donation. Today's ceremony is another way we honor and say thank you to these special people and their loved ones."  

Observed annually in April, National Donate Life Month was established by Donate Life America in 2003 to raise awareness about donation, encourage Americans to register as organ, eye, and tissue donors and honor those who have saved lives through the gift of donation. The Spero Award is a program started by MORA to recognize hospital partners, medical professionals, and community partners who help make the Donate Life mission possible.  

"The Spero Award recognizes those who have gone above and beyond to help make donation possible," said Haratio Keys, Director of Hospital Development at MORA. "We are excited to present this quarterly award of 2024 here at St. Dominic's, and we are so appreciative of the life-changing things happening here."  

MORA is pleased to present this quarter’s Spero award to David Shrock, P.A., St. Dominic Hospital Medicine, who has been instrumental in the donation process. He has always gone above and beyond to ensure the needs of the family; MORA staff, and St Dominic are met. David has been there for support without hesitation on numerous occasions. We recognize his true compassion and thank him for helping us carry out the mission of saving lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation.    

Throughout the year, MORA will present quarterly Spero Awards at hospitals across Mississippi.  

A new patient is added to the national transplant waiting list every eight minutes and an average of 16 people die each day awaiting a lifesaving transplant that never comes. Currently, there are nearly 1,300 Mississippians on the 100,000+ national organ transplant waiting list with over 1,200 of those waiting on a kidney transplant. One organ donor can save eight lives and one tissue donor can save or improve the lives of 75 recipients or more. Join over one million Mississippians who are currently on the Mississippi Donor Registry by registering as an organ, eye, and tissue donor at www.registerme.org.