For Auxiliary Appreciation Week, Bates County Memorial Hospital recognized and celebrated our very special Auxiliary volunteers. Volunteers contribute a great deal to BCMH, its patients and employees, and their accomplishments include:
Bates County Memorial Hospital recognized Auxiliary members with a banquet on Friday, April 29. Members were given a pin for hours of service, and a hanging flower basket as a thank you gift from the hospital. The awards ceremony included the announcement of the 2021 volunteer of the year, Lora Padley.
Lora works in the Auxiliary Gift Shop, and her kind demeanor with everyone is only matched by her energy. Lora decided to become a volunteer because she wanted to help her friend, Dorothy Keene (now passed) to get out and be more active. As they got involved with volunteer activities, Lora found that she really enjoyed it. Lora appreciates that volunteering allows her to meet new people as well as to see old friends.
Like Lora, volunteers perform many tasks, and their service is invaluable. They are the first to greet patients, assist them through the screening process and their first steps for registration. Some accompany patients to their destination, and others are assigned to help outpatient specialty clinic staff with logistics, such as transferring patients to labs and imaging services.
Perhaps one of the most valuable services a volunteer can offer is a smile and a listening ear.
“People come into the shop and want to talk,” said Pat Friederich, a 27-year Auxiliary member, during the Auxiliary Banquet.
Why volunteer? For BCMH volunteers, motivation ranges from having something to do, getting more exercise, to the enjoyment of the close friendships they create with other volunteers. Some do it to give back, either because the hospital did something for them or a family member, or they retired from the hospital. All of our volunteers enjoy helping others. Members enjoy a few perks for volunteering, include a free meal on their service days, and discounts on gift shop merchandise and BCMH health services.
If you would like to learn more about volunteering with BCMH Auxiliary, speak to a volunteer at the information desk or gift shop, or visit https://www.bcmhospital.com/auxiliary-volunteers/
BCMH thanks Lora, and all of our volunteers, for the gift of service.
Photo cutlines: Auxiliary members pictured (front row, left to right): Beverly Wainwright, Donna Huber, Pat Friederich, Kathy Bunch, Faye Hunt and Lora Padley. Second row: Missie Good, Ramona Snyder, Carol Hedrick, Sherry York, Ruby Westmoreland, Holly Rabourn, Judy Taylor, Alvina Harrison-Wells and Kathleen Eckert. Third row: Bob Thomas, Carol Lewis, Barbara Weaver, Liz Schlechty, Pat Decker, Mike Humphrey (Chaplain) and Norman Black. Not pictured: Charlotte Guss, Dee
