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By
GRACE HAMMERSTROM
What
motivates someone to volunteer at a hospital? The loss of a loved
one? An inherent desire to help? A positive experience at the
facility? Whatever the reason, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital to have a vast group of
benevolent individuals who share their time with patients and
staff.
"As
of April 2001, there were about 981 volunteers who gave just under
100,000 hours to Stanford Hospital & Clinics," said Jeanne
Kennedy, director of community and patient relations. "That
translates into saving $1.9 million in salary."
At
Packard Children's Hospital, the number is about 850 volunteers,
who logged over 52,000 hours for the year ending September
2001.
Hospital volunteers can be found in more places than just the
information desk. Volunteers at Packard conduct newborn hearing
tests, drive patients to appointments, play games with children and
cuddle infants, to name just a few from the hospital's 26 volunteer
programs. At Stanford Hospital & Clinics, you can find
volunteer chaplains, interpreters and tour docents, patient
advocates, volunteers who offer smoking cessation help, and even a
clown. There's also the Auxiliary, which places volunteers in
services such as surgery and intensive care reception, patient
services, the gift shop, the flower desk and the shopping and book
carts.
Medical center volunteer programs also extend into the
community. At the Health Library at Stanford Shopping Center,
volunteer librarians offer an extensive selection of medical
information to the public free of charge. The Partners in Caring
program matches homebound patients with volunteers who visit them
weekly, shop, provide rides to appointments and offer respite to
their caregivers. The Homes with a Heart program links patients or
families who need a place to stay with local Palo Alto residents
while being treated at Packard.
The
minimum age for all volunteers is 14 to 18, depending on the
program, and the minimum commitment is six months to a
year.
To volunteer, contact:
Stanford Hospital & Clinics: 723-7424
The Auxiliary: 723-6636
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital: 497-8696
In
honor of National Volunteer Recognition Week, here are some stories
from just a few of the volunteers who offer their services at the
medical center:
 Cathy Draper
Stanford Hospital Health Library (since 1994)
Why she volunteers: When her eldest son was
diagnosed with a serious kidney and urinary tract defect in 1981,
Draper struggled to find information on his condition. In 1992, she
donated a kidney for his transplant. At the same time, her
33-year-old sister was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Draper was
able to research both conditions at Stanford's newly opened health
library. The facility was such a valuable resource to Draper and
her family that her sister requested people remember her by making
donations to the library upon her death.
Favorite part of volunteering: "It has given me great
satisfaction to be able to assist hospital patients and their
families in accessing health information. I know only too well the
need to provide information, no matter how basic, so that patients
and their families can better understand their
treatment."
 Allan Perry
Forever Young Zone and Packard Information Desk (since 1986)
Why he volunteers: Perry's first experience as a volunteer
wasn't exactly "volunteering." Caught throwing water balloons as
part of a fraternity prank, the young Stanford student was ordered
to help garden at the convalescent hospital. That was in 1939. Upon
retiring nearly 50 years later, he returned to Stanford to
volunteer for Packard's recreation program. The 82-year-old father
of three boys liked the idea of working with kids, so every Friday,
he can be found playing games, reading stories and telling jokes to
young patients. He's also been working at the Packard Information
Desk since 1991.
Favorite part of volunteering: "Being helpful is the biggest
reward for me. I enjoy working with kids and families, making it
easier for them in any way I can. When I help a family and it looks
like it means something to them, I'm happy. Volunteering is lots of
fun."
 Tanya Hoche Maluf
Packard Hospital cuddler and NAPP volunteer (since 1998)
Why she volunteers: Maluf has always had a soft spot for
children, a trait that helps guide her volunteer work. She worked
as a buddy on the transplant unit for six months, and has been a
cuddler for the past three and a half years, offering love and
support to sick children. She sees her role as filling in when
parents are away to provide unconditional attention and affection
for infants in the neonatal ICU and the intermediate nursery. She
also works on grief and loss issues as part of the the Newborns and
Parents Advisory Panel (NAPP). Drawing from her own loss of twin
daughters at birth, Maluf sews blankets and assembles memory boxes
that parents can take home as an acknowledgement of their child's
birth.
Favorite part of volunteering: "Knowing that I'm doing
something that may be helping someone else gives me the energy and
drive to volunteer."
 John Lippert
Patient representative (since 1998)
Why he volunteers: As a retired dentist, Lippert thought
working at the hospital would be a natural fit. For the past four
years, he has spent every Monday at the hospital as a patient
representative, visiting patients, answering questions and
explaining how a large teaching hospital works. He sees his role as
helping to alleviate some of the anxiety people feel when
hospitalized. Undergoing heart surgery himself last year, Lippert
knows what it's like to be a patient. He also remembers the
enormous help volunteers were to his family during his hospital
stay.
Favorite part of volunteering: "The people I work with are
super. Having been the head of my own dental practice all those
years, it's a novelty to work together with other people. It helps
me more than it helps the patients. It's the most rewarding
volunteer work I've ever done."
|
Medical center Community Day events run the gamut
(4/10/02)
Community and Patient Relations Office keeps its finger on
hospital's pulse (8/8/01)
Stanford Hospital & Clinics
Patient Services
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
Patient Services
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