Hedi Aguiar

RN, MSN
Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance
Hedi Aguiar

Brief Bio

Hedi has been a critical care nurse for over 26 years, gathering experience in three different countries. She has a Bachelor of Arts Honors degree in intensive care nursing and a Masters of Science in Nursing as a Clinical Nurse Specialist. After working as an ICU Educator, she transitioned into the organ, eye, and tissue donation field. She worked for two different Organ Procurement Organizations (OPO), OneLegacy and Donor Network West, where in her last position she was the Donation Process Improvement Manager.

During her time in the OPO field, Hedi served as faculty for the North American Transplant Coordinator Organization (NATCO) and chaired the national Association of Organ Procurement Organization’s (AOPO) Hospital Development Council. After working for the OPO, she took a leadership role with the national organization the Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance where she became the Senior Director of Programs, leading various national initiatives, councils and workgroups.

After many years of providing consultations, trainings and speaking engagements, she founded her own business in 2018, called Fundamental Roots. Fundamental Roots offers various customized soft skills trainings, including topics surrounding managing one’s sphere of control, general communication and collaboration skills, and physician communication and partnership. Leveraging her life-experiences in growing up internationally and having lived on four continents and in 7 different countries, Hedi also provides trainings on cross-cultural communication.

Alliance Presentations

FirstPersonAuthorization

Does Our Messaging Match Our Mission?

Tuesday, November 07, 2023, at 2:00pm

Are we emphasizing the right part of our message at the right time when we are communicating in the hospitals, with families, talking to the public or engaging OPO employees, or has our message become slanted? Could we be experiencing unintended consequences in our communication? The words and terminology we choose has a tremendous impact on the mindset and actions of the public, families, hospital partners and OPO staff.

During this presentation, we hope to uncover the unintended hidden messages in our current and common communication practices. The panel will explore some of the dangers these messages have for the future work of the OPOs including, broken hospital relationships, impediments to the donation processes, employee retention and diminished public trust. It is time and it is urgent to re-evaluate our messaging. We will offer concrete ideas and specific messaging alternatives to reframe the role of the OPO and inspire potential donor families, staff (hospitals and OPOs) and the public to more fully engage in the organ donation process and facilitate the spirit of generosity.

Lifelong Networks

Our partners are the heart and soul of our organization. For more than 15 years, they have played a vital role providing quality education and programs to advance a shared mission.