By Heather Ruenz
SLN staff
What began as the Pink Ladies in 1963 has grown into a program that currently has 90 active volunteers at Aurora Lakeland Medical Center, Elkhorn, and clinics in the area.
Kathy Galstad, volunteer program manager, said the volunteers are generally retired, but also includes people that still work as well as high school and college students, some who are deciding if a career in healthcare career is what they want to pursue.
Beginning with the Pink Ladies, Galstad said, men were allowed to join the volunteer corps at the 70s and high school girls were added to the mix as candy stripers in the 80s.
Carol Sabin, who has been a volunteer at Lakeland for 23 years, other than taking a two-year reprieve to care for her husband, said she’s helped in numerous capacities.
“I spent 17 years at admitting, taking patients in and out when they arrive or leave – and giving people that were cold, warm flannel blankets,” Sabin said.
She also helped out in the emergency room for a short time and said the volunteers were always told, “if we get out on the wrong side of the bed to leave it at home.”
Sabin said she enjoys volunteering because she likes people.
“Most people come here because they have to so we do anything we can to make it better for them. I also like learning, and I still learn new things,” she said.
Galstad said the volunteers help with a variety of needs, including helping people in and out of vehicles, walking with them or pushing them in a wheelchair to their appointment, delivering items throughout the hospital, and, selling items at the Oasis Coffee Shop.
The coffee shop, located just inside the main entrance of the hospital, offers an opportunity for volunteers to ease peoples’ minds, she said.
“They talk to people and help them be more comfortable. It can also help calm their nerves when they’re waiting for people,” Galstad said.
Sabin agreed and said people often recognize volunteers at community events outside the hospital or clinics.
“Volunteers serve as a bridge to the community,” Sabin, who generally volunteers for a four-hour shift once a week and fills in when she’s available, said.
One of the keys to a successful volunteer program, according to Galstad, is being flexible with whatever time people have to offer. Some volunteers take a shift a couple times a week while others can only do so once a month.
“We’ll work with them to make it fit with their schedule,” she said.
Galstad said she conducts a short interview with those interested in becoming a volunteer and assuming she thinks they’re a good fit, a background check is done. They then take part in an orientation to the hospital environment and specific volunteer training depending on their interests.
“We’re always looking for qualified volunteers,” she said.
The volunteer program at Lakeland also gives back in several ways, including an annual $6,000 scholarship to a medical student, providing wigs to county residents that lose their hair during treatment, and the purchase of medical equipment at roughly $10,000 each year.
All of the volunteers are longtime community members, “who are very compassionate and have the ability to listen. That’s not a requirement but those are the type of people that volunteer,” Galstad said.
“It really is gratifying to do something with your life and continue learning to keep the cobwebs out,” Sabin said. “You really benefit from doing it. You come here and see what some people are going through and realize you shouldn’t complain.”
