Charles F. Barbera, MD, MBA, MPH, FACEP has been named to the Gift of Life Donor Program Medical Advisory and Policy Board (MAPB). The one-year term began January 1, 2024.
Gift of Life Donor Program is one of the nation’s leading organ procurement organizations (OPO). The program has coordinated more donors and organs for transplant than any other U.S. OPO since the inception of the national donation system in 1988.
“We welcome Dr. Charles Barbera to our Medical Advisory Board and look forward to benefitting from his deep knowledge of the healthcare system as we work together with hospital partners to advance an even stronger culture of donation within our region,” said Gift of Life President & CEO Rick Hasz.
Each day, 17 people in the United States die while waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. That is why Reading Hospital and Tower Health partner with Gift of Life Donor Program to increase awareness of organ and tissue donation as part of National Donate Life Month each April. Gift of Life encourages individuals to register to become an organ, tissue, and cornea donor, which is as easy as visiting donors1.org.
Last year Tower Health hospitals were honored by the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania for championing organ, eye and tissue donation within their hospitals and communities. Tower Health hospitals received third place.
“It is an honor to be selected to serve on the Medical Advisory and Policy Board,” said Dr. Barbera. “This is an opportunity for me to help make meaningful change for patients, their families, and healthcare providers. It is a privilege to be part of this prestigious organization who is a long-standing partner of our health system.”
Dr. Barbera is the immediate past Chair of the Pennsylvania Trauma System Foundation Board, is a member of the Board of Trustees at Alvernia University, Threshold Rehabilitation Services, and The Berks County Aging Advisory Council. He previously served as the president of Pennsylvania College of Emergency Physicians and The Berks County Medical Society and on the boards of Autism Society of Berks County, American Heart Association, and the Children’s Home of Reading.
He received his Doctor of Medicine from Temple University School of Medicine, his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts from LaSalle University, his Master’s in Business Administration from Alvernia University, and his Master’s in Public Health from The George Washington University.
