Twenty minutes before sitting down for his Thanksgiving dinner with family this past year, Stan Thomas received a call from the hospital. No one in his family was sick. He had no friends that had been admitted. He himself was not ill. He is a volunteer, however, and he was on call for the Trauma Center on Thanksgiving Day, something he chose to do out of the goodness of his heart. About an hour and half later he was back with his family, giving thanks, while those at the hospital were giving thanks for him.
“Everyone here volunteers for the same reason, because they have a passion and a commitment to help others,” said Lisa Delamater, Director of Volunteer Services at North Fulton Regional Hospital. “Our volunteers are very dedicated to their work.” This dedication and commitment is demonstrated through various situations, from the many volunteers who give of their time despite having full-time work schedules, to the Spanish interpreters who offer over 100 hours of service each month, to the countless others who take time to make patients feel special. Of the 165 active volunteers, “all are exceptional,” Delamater explains.
Most areas of the hospital receive help from this program. From Emergency/Trauma, Reception, Women’s Health and Rehabilitation to Materials Management, Surgical Waiting, Surgery, Critical Care and Transportation, the volunteers contribute each day to North Fulton’s high standard of care. They also host the annual Breakfast with Santa, an event geared toward hospital employees and their families where children can eat a hot breakfast, nibble on candy canes and tell Santa just what they want for Christmas.
The volunteers at North Fulton operate as an independent unit, working with the hospital but functioning as a non-profit operation. To fund its efforts, the volunteer program hosts various fundraisers throughout each year that have included jewelry, purse and uniform sales. It also runs the Mimosa Gift Shop, the convenient shop located just inside the main entrance of the hospital. Here, volunteers handle every aspect of business from purchasing goods, to pricing them, to organizing displays to book keeping.
The reach of this program does not end with the hospital. On the contrary, volunteers work diligently to support the community at large, contributing to such organizations as No Lounger Bound, a faith-based drug and alcohol program in Cumming, a local women’s shelter and Canine Assistants, a non- profit organization that trains and provides service dogs for children and adults with physical disabilities or other special needs.
Education is also a prime concern as the volunteers award approximately $25,000 in college scholarships each year. Anyone in the community pursuing a career in the medical field is eligible for one of these awards, and funds can be put toward tuition, books, lab fees or uniforms.
“If I was asked to give up something, the one thing I could never give up is the scholarship program,” said Meryl Shlossman, a 23-year volunteer and current president of the Volunteer Program. “Our program put one girl completely through college . . . she got it each year.”
The scholarship program began in 1986 with a total of $4,500 awarded across four individuals. It has since grown with close to 30 individuals receiving help in their education efforts each year.
To learn more about Volunteer Services or how to become a volunteer at North Fulton Regional Hospital, please call Lisa Delamater at 770-751-2602 or visit www.northfultonregionl.com/volunteer.