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(Above) Unity Health associates and volunteers were elated when the volunteers came “home.” Here, Dr. Justin Franz, Orthopaedic Surgeon, hugs volunteer Lynda Goldman, Surgery Waiting Desk. Their eyes express the happiness all felt. (Right) Charles Kitts, Unity Health volunteer, helped establish the Lobby Greeter/Screening station. Having volunteers fulfill the task of screening all who enter the facility helps our staff tremendously. Before this service began, associates were rotating shifts.
Ready,Willing and Able: Volunteers Fill Gaps During COVID
By Carol Evans, President, Arkansas Hospital Auxiliary Association
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OVID-19 can’t keep the spirit of Arkansas Hospital Auxiliary Association (AHAA) volunteers down! When the pandemic struck, most hospitals asked volunteers in our 52 auxiliaries to stay home and stay safe. Before many days passed, AHAA volunteers found ways to safely keep up our service. In the early days when masks were hard to find, volunteers sewed hundreds of masks for hospital workers and community members. Many of us learned how to conduct Zoom meetings and did all we possibly could to keep our groups connected. Some auxiliaries were allowed, under strict rules, to open their thrift stores to serve the public. Some devised creative ways to hold fundraisers. Some were allowed to serve hospital employees by keeping their gift shops open. Many auxiliary volunteers worked call centers and vaccination clinics when they began operating throughout the state. Auxiliary members are devoted to their hospitals. Each of us comes to this work in our own way. My volunteer life began after my second bout with cancer; I knew I wanted to be of help to others. I never dreamed I would hold a leadership role, let alone during a worldwide pandemic. From this vantage point, I can tell you that the commitment of AHAA’s board of directors and district chairs, its local leaders and hospital auxiliary teams, is amazing. Like many organizations
during COVID, our in-person meetings are still replaced by Zoom meetings, but we are finding remarkable ways to help our hospitals despite the challenges COVID puts in our path. We can all be proud of AHAA’s auxiliaries and how they've handled themselves during the pandemic! We’re an aging group, yet we do all we can within each hospital’s COVID restrictions to continue helping Arkansas’s hospitals and the public. No day is guaranteed, but every day is a blessing. Every hospital has its own processes during COVID; though some hospital auxiliaries are not yet able to volunteer in person, many are returning, in whole or in part, to their inperson work. Please read on to see how three of our auxiliaries are blessing others during COVID-19.
UNITY HEALTH: NON-TRADITIONAL VOLUNTEER SERVICES
When the pandemic hit, many everyday activities, including hospital volunteer programs, came to a halt. While scientists researched the pandemic, our hospitals were faced with supply shortages, coordinating testing centers, and protecting staff while caring for our communities. As the initial months of the pandemic subsided, many volunteers became vaccinated and were ready once again to serve. ARKANSAS HOSPITALS | SPRING 2022 33
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