St. Dominic's Team Members Honored with Spero Awards during Donate Life Month

April 24, 2025

JACKSON, MS – Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA) recently honored St. Dominic Hospital team members with Spero Awards in three categories:

• Nurse Champion | Kyle Gilmore, RN, General Surgery, St. Dominic Hospital 
• Most Supportive Care Team | St. Dominic Hospital Surgical Care Team
• Most Supportive Ancillary or Healthcare Staff | Nancy Aycock, RN, Manager, Palliative Care, St. Dominic Hospital

Awards were presented during a flag-raising event at St. Dominic Hospital recognizing National Donate Life Month.   

"These honorees are a reflection of the compassionate care and commitment to our mission and ministry here at St. Dominic Health," said Jeremy Tinnerello, St. Dominic Health President. "Our mission includes supporting our patients and their loved ones throughout the care journey, and we are grateful to MORA for this special recognition of these individuals and teams for their significant contributions."  

"This year's SPERO honorees played a key role in developing a new education process, first piloted at St. Dominic Hospital and now implemented statewide," said Katie McCaffrey, RRT, Hospital Development Coordinator, MORA. "Together, we introduced simulation-based training, giving hospital staff a hands-on, realistic view of the donation process. This innovative approach has improved efficiency, reduced costs, and strengthened staff understanding of their roles and responsibilities. MORA also presented this educational model at a national conference as a best-practice model."

The SPERO award for Nurse Champion honors and recognizes a nurse who goes out of their way to support and assist with organ and tissue donation. He or she is supportive of a potential donor family while collaborating with MORA staff to maximize donation opportunities. Honoree Kyle Gilmore has been instrumental in the donation process. Kyle has always gone above and beyond to ensure the needs of the family, MORA staff, and St Dominic are met. Kyle has been there for support without hesitation in all donation cases and ensures that each donor receives the best care possible.

The SPERO award for The Most Supportive Care Team recognizes a unit that goes above and beyond, working diligently to ensure the best donation outcome possible. The Surgical Care Team at St. Dominic Health is recognized for their efficiency, compassion, and hard work. The care and compassion they exemplify during donor cases have been described as exceptional.

The SPERO Award for Most Supportive Ancillary or Healthcare Staff honors the dedicated professionals who play a crucial role in making donations possible. This includes Respiratory Therapists, Social Workers, Echo Technicians, Laboratory Staff, and many others. Their support is invaluable in ensuring a smooth and successful process. This award recognizes an outstanding team member who goes above and beyond in supporting donation efforts. Honoree Nancy Aycock is St. Dominic Hospital's Leadership Sponsor for the Organ, Tissue & Eye Donor Collaborative, and she works diligently to ensure that the partnership between MORA and St Dominic Health is strong, collaborative, and always driving donation to its highest potential. This award recognizes Nancy’s leadership and compassion to help MORA and St Dominic Health save and improve lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation.

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.  

A new patient is added to the national transplant waiting list every 8 minutes, and an average of 13 people die each day awaiting a lifesaving transplant that never comes. Currently, there are over 1,000 Mississippians on the 100,000+ national organ transplant waiting list with around 90% of those waiting on a kidney transplant. MORA wants everyone to know 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 on the Mississippi Donor Registry by registering as an organ, eye, and tissue donor at www.registerme.org.