Hospital Volunteers Who Make a Difference

April 22, 2013 – In honor of Volunteer Recognition Month, HHS asked C.A.R.E. Channel clients to nominate their outstanding hospital volunteers.  These three stood out:

Shirley I. Long, Morton Plant Mease BayCare Health System, FL:  Community volunteer, board member, and benefactor, Shirley has been a passionate, visionary volunteer for the past 10 years, serving on and chairing the Spirituality & Healing in Medicine Committee.  This committee has been the impetus for funding and advancing initiatives for the system’s Department of Pastoral Care.  Shirley has also served as a board member of Morton Plant Mease Foundation and will be retiring as an Emeritus Member.  Her generous gift endowed the funding that brought The C.A.R.E. Channel to Morton Plant Mease’s four-hospital system. Although she is not “at the bedside” her passion to bring comfort and an environment of healing is.

Caleb Zamora, Scripps Mercy Hospital, CA:  Caleb is a pre-nursing student who has been volunteering since 2010 at the hospital. He is what staff calls a “Patient Safety Rounder” — a volunteer who visits patients and checks their rooms for safety issues at the same time. Caleb has put in 300 hours of service while attending school to become a nurse. He has been an excellent visitor for our patients as he is a good listener. Caleb also explains to patients how to use the TV and directs them to The C.A.R.E. Channel. He loves showing them the beautiful restful experience that they can have by turning on this channel. Caleb’s enthusiasm is wonderful and he also helps train other volunteers.

David Fisher, Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System, AZ: David is a volunteer in the Patient Education Resource Center. He is the hospital’s technical expert who helped with the technical requirements needed to purchase a new flat screen TV that hosts The C.A.R.E Channel. David assisted in setting up a private TV room and suggested that headphones connecting to the TV would allow patients to have a private music and “downtime” experience. When David comes on duty, he makes sure the TV is turned on to The C.A.R.E. Channel and lets other veterans know about it. He has gone above and beyond in serving his fellow veterans.