Rich Diggelmann finds his place at North Fulton Regional Hospital

North Fulton Regional Hospital – Roswell, GA  – After a triple heart bypass and a subsequent stint in North Fulton Regional Hospital’s Cardiac Rehabilitation program, Rich Diggelmann is back in the hospital.  Instead of patient attire, however, he has instead opted for the respectable blue jacket of a volunteer.

            “I’m the co-chair of the transportation group here at the hospital,” Rich said.  “It’s one of those jobs where I wake up and look forward to coming to the hospital; it’s never a chore.  We volunteers are like a big family!”

            Rich had his first interaction with North Fulton Regional Hospital ten years ago as a patient in the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program.  Six months after his retirement, Rich noticed some chest discomfort.

            “I ignored the pain for about six months, but then my wife stepped in and got me to go to my doctor.  He determined the cause of my pain was exertion and then sent me to a cardiologist for all the standard tests.”  The problem turned out to be much greater than expected: significant blockage in the lower heart.

            “As I looked at the cardiologist’s screen that showed my heart, even I could see the blockage.  I remember it vividly because it was Friday night of Memorial Day Weekend.  He basically told me I could have the surgery right then or take my chances and wait until Tuesday.  I decided not to take the chance!”

            Following his triple heart bypass, Rich began the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program at North Fulton Regional Hospital, a program in its infancy at the hospital at the time.

“I was in the first group of patients to go through the program,” Rich said.  “I never felt taxed, but I did feel I was doing something good for myself.  The nurses customized care to each individual patient, monitoring us from the first minute we walked in the door, so we all got what we needed…and we had a lot of fun in the process!”

Following his Cardiac Rehabilitation, Rich began to feel that it was time to give a little something back.  Recognizing how much the hospital had done for him, he looked into volunteer opportunities.  He began in January 2001 as a volunteer in the transportation department and has continued in that department ever since.

Rich maintains an active life in his retirement years.  In addition to his volunteer work at North Fulton Regional Hospital, he enjoys his work with Gideon’s International distributing Bibles in hotels and hospital rooms.  He also works with the youth group at Bridgeway Church and serves as the chair of the personnel committee.  Rich and his wife enjoyed the international experience (a result of a job with Eastman Kodak Company) as they started their life together in South Africa.  From there it was off to Korea; Dubai; Saudi Arabia; Korea again; Rochester, NY; and finally to Atlanta where they now reside.  About his retirement “career” as a volunteer, Rich has only nice things to say. 

“Our interactions with the hospital staff and the patients make this such a wonderful job,” Rich explained.  “Many times we [transportation volunteers] are the last people the patients have contact with before they leave; we like leaving them with a good impression.” 

 North Fulton Regional Hospital (NFRH), part of Tenet Georgia, is a 202-bed, acute-care

hospital located on Highway 9, Alpharetta Highway, in Roswell.  Opened in 1983, NFRH serves North Fulton and surrounding counties through its team of over 1000 employees, 400 staff physicians and 200 volunteers.  NFRH is a state-designated Level II trauma center and provides a continuum of services through its centers and programs, including neurosciences, orthopedics, rehabilitation, surgical services, bariatric surgical weight loss, gastroenterology and oncology.   The hospital is fully accredited and also is certified as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency.

The cardiac rehabilitation program at North Fulton Regional Hospital is certified by the AACVPR.  For more information about this program, please call 770-751-2785.  For more information about Volunteer Services at North Fulton Regional Hospital or how you could become a member of the volunteer team, please visit www.northfultonregional.com/volunteer.  Also call the Volunteer Services Coordinator at 770-751-2602.

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