HALIFAX REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM CELEBRATES NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK - “Sharing Moments, Changing Lives” is the theme as HRHS recognizes and celebrates the 123 men and women who serve the organization as volunteers. From assisting with day-to-day operations to fundraising for community projects, the HRHS auxiliary is there to help, and is actively seeking newcomers. Pictured from left to right are Jean Wright, auxiliary recording secretary; Veronna Barksdale, team leader; Judy Mayo, coordinator of volunteer services; Jan Lee, president; Holly Buckman, team leader; Mary Schreffler, president-elect; Eleanor Sortino, team leader and manager of the Wishing Well gift shop; and Teresa Jones, corresponding secretary. Interested in volunteering? Call Judy Mayo at (434) 517-3133.

Helping Those Who Help The Sick

The 123-strong Halifax Regional Auxiliary work tirelessly hour by hour to provide an extra dimension of care and services to patients, residents, families and visitors, as well as offering support to the hospital and nursing facilities’ staff. Last year this group of energetic individuals donated over 31,000 hours.
“Our volunteers do more than help out around the hospital,” said Judy Mayo coordinator of volunteer services for Halifax Regional Hospital. Fundraising events held annually help support a number of projects.
“This year we conducted jewelry sales, uniform sales, the Fudgie-Wudgie sale, and bake sales,” notes auxiliary president Jan Lee.  “The money raised allowed us to make monetary donations to the Project PRIME scholarship fund, the continuing medical education fund, and the MCV Hospitality House. In addition, we were also able to help one of our nurses in her Operation Smile mission, and our assistance with ice cream sundae sales helped raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association’s Memory Walk.”
Volunteers for Halifax Regional Health System have a wide variety of areas in which they can help at both the hospital and at The Woodview, Seasons at the Woodview and Meadow Terrace. From serving as greeters and escorts to assisting in the admitting or ambulatory surgery department, delivering mail and newspapers, working in the gift shop or emergency department, there is a place for everybody.
“I’ve been volunteering for almost a year,” states Judith Winstead. “I’m here one day a week for four hours and I really enjoy it. It’s my way of giving back.”
For twelve-year veteran Billie Sizemore volunteering is something she does for herself. “I missed being around people after I stopped working, and when I started talking to my cat I said ‘It’s time to get out of here!’ I’ve been doing this ever since.”
“I started because my wife was a volunteer,” states Dave Schreffler. “After I retired, I figured I might as well do it too. I serve as a greeter and I really enjoy seeing and being around people. I’ve been doing it for seven years now.”
For Daisy Franklin, who has been at Halifax Regional for the past four years, volunteering is a way to spend time away from home. “I’m by myself at home,” she states, “and I like to get out and be around other people. I like to help people, but I really think it helps me as much as it does anyone else.”
Eleanor Sortino, who serves as the manager of the Wishing Well gift shop, has been working with the auxiliary for eight years. “And I’m proud of it,” she says. If I can’t do anything else in my life, at least I can be helping someone.” One of Sortino’s responsibilities is delivering balloons to hospital patients. “We’ve been doing this for about a year and a half,” she states, “and it’s a fantastic program. The patients are totally surprised and so appreciative. You really have to see it to believe it.”
“Although it might sound as though we have a big auxiliary,” Mayo states, “we really are looking for more individuals interested in joining us. We need more help in our customer service area, which involves working at the information desk, escorting individuals to various departments and helping visitors find their way around. We also need more volunteers to help in the admitting area as well as ambulatory surgery. We’re especially looking for early birds in ambulatory surgery. They get going at 6 a.m.”
“We could use more help in the Wishing Well, too. That’s retail work- helping customers find what they need and working the cash register.”
Another area needing additional volunteers is the ICU/Surgery waiting area. “Volunteers there answer the phone, act as a liaison between families and the operating room and other departments and keep the coffee pot filled,” Mayo states.
Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer at Halifax Regional is welcome to learn more about it by visiting www.hrhs.org or by calling Judy Mayo, coordinator of volunteer services at (434) 517-3133.