(Spirit Lake)– Officials at Lakes Regional Healthcare are emphasizing the important role volunteers play at their facility as we approach the observance of Volunteers Week April 22nd-26th. LRH Vice President of Marketing and Retail Services Jennifer Gustafson says volunteers help out in several areas of the hospital…
“They basically work at the east entrance, the west entrance, and in the gift shop. So they help escort and direct people throughout the hospital. They take supplies maybe from one area of the hospital to another to help our staff. The gift shop volunteers help check people out, help them and really provide a respite for people who want to kind of get away while they’re waiting for a loved one or even our staff who are on break.”
She says about 50 volunteers help with those services, along with 20 others that assist the Hospice program at LRH…
“They are really special people. They offer vital support to our patients and family during obviously what is a challenging time. They provide companionship, run errands and offer respite care that is comforting and essential to patients and their family members.”
Gustafson adds volunteers also help out with the Senior Health Insurance Information Program, or SHIIP…
“And our SHIIP volunteers consist of counselors that meet with people but also the schedulers, which are also so important. They actually schedule the appointments for the counselors. So we really appreciate all of our volunteers.”
Gustafson says they’re always looking for more…
“You can go to our website at lakeshealth.org/volunteer, and there’s a form that you can fill out that’s on the right side of that screen. I’ll get their information and then I can contact them from there. If they’re interested in being a hospice volunteer, they should call Kim Jansma in our Hospice Department at 712-336-8709. Otherwise just call me at 336-8799 or go to http://www.lakeshealth.org/volunteer
Gustafson adds they are more than willing to work around your schedule.
