Spring 2011
Volunteer Voice
A Newsletter for MD Anderson Volunteers
We Celebrate Volunteers
Health Adventures volunteers take the prize — and the 2011 Ainsworth Award.
Volunteers are valued year-round at MD Anderson, but
National Volunteer Week offered an opportunity to recognize these special members of our workforce.
MD Anderson Volunteer Recognition
John Lukeman, M.D., is recognized for receiving his 7,000 hour pin. His volunteer placement is a special assignment — pathology with Nour Sneige, M.D.
This year, a fiesta was in order and evening and weekend volunteers celebrated with a dinner and program held at the Junior League of Houston, Inc. Day volunteers had a fiesta of their own at MD Anderson’s Dan L. Duncan Cancer Prevention Building. Piñatas, fajitas, enchiladas, chips, salsa and more set the scene as volunteers were honored at both events. Pins were awarded to those reaching milestone hours of volunteering − 120 for evening/weekend and 417 for day volunteers. Special mentions were given to those day volunteers receiving pins for more than 5,000 hours and for evening/weekend volunteers with more than 1,000 hours. Speaking at the day fiesta, John Mendelsohn, M.D., recalled a story about his first day as MD Anderson’s president. Walking in the front door of Clark Clinic, he was greeted by former volunteer Thommye Stewart. Her warm hug made him feel continued on page 2
Celebrating Volunteers continued right at home, and, in fact, Stewart later received the first Presidents’ Award, which acknowledged her lengthy and dedicated service as a hospital volunteer, especially as a member of Anderson Network.
Health Adventures volunteers receive the Ainsworth Award The fiestas continued with more awards and more recognition. First on the list was the Ainsworth Award, named for Joseph T. Ainsworth, M.D., a former vice president for patient care at MD Anderson and an advocate of volunteers. Presented each year to a corporation, organization, group or individual who makes an extraordinary contribution to Volunteer Services, this year’s honor went to the Health Adventures volunteers. This program has been held at MD Anderson on Saturdays since 1997. As a joint effort of Communities In Schools, the Junior League of Houston, Inc. and MD Anderson, 254 at-risk fifth-grade students have taken part and benefited from learning about health care. The students learn about healthy living, community service and make a connection between classroom learning and future career goals. Students are each assigned a volunteer mentor to help challenge them, encourage their dreams and to act as both a companion and a teacher. Once a month during the school year, these youngsters are exposed to a behind-the-scenes exploration of MD Anderson. From radiation oncology, a laboratory or the pharmacy, rehabilitation services or sterile supply processing, the students meet MD Anderson employees in these areas, who discuss their jobs and introduce them to possibilities for the future. Health Adventures definitely takes a village, and that volunteer village was deservedly recognized with the 2011
Joseph T. Ainsworth, M.D., Volunteer Community Award.
Mitch Malvous represents MD Anderson at the TMC Salute to Volunteers In another award, Mitch Malvous was named as MD Anderson’s representative to the annual Texas Medical Center’s Salute to Volunteers. No stranger to volunteering, Malvous has dedicated the past 27 years to volunteer service at MD Anderson. He plays a dual role, Longtime volunteer Mitch Malvous is serving as a weekend floor host and recognized as the MD Anderson as a volunteer mentor with representative to the Texas Medical Center’s MD Anderson’s Health Adventures 2010 Salute to Volunteers. program. Malvous says he enjoys his volunteer jobs because of the opportunity to cover the hospital and meet patients who come from all over the world for treatment. During his floor hosting duties, he “gets attached” to those he visits and counts them as his Volunteers Marge Roberts and Patti Rollins visit at the Daytime top priority every Volunteer Recognition Luncheon. Saturday morning. For the past Volunteer Services 13 years, Malvous celebrates volunteers has also been an adult friend and Stories of our volunteers range mentor to students through the Health from the touching to the inspiring. Adventures program. He is known Volunteers come from all walks of for his consistency: being consistently life and promote the mission of the kind, consistently interested, and most Department of Volunteer Services, importantly, consistently present. providing excellence in volunteer Malvous makes a positive service and support to patients, families, faculty, staff and community difference in the lives of the young partners with care, integrity and people he mentors. With his gentle, compassion. quiet demeanor, he is a wonderful As the heart of MD Anderson, addition to the MD Anderson we celebrated our volunteers during volunteer team. He will be honored at National Volunteer Week, April 10-16 – the TMC event on May 10. and also all year long.
page 2
VEPS Returns the Love to MD Anderson George Vietor is something of a
legend in Volunteer Services. In 1991, this longtime volunteer and supporter of MD Anderson had an idea to fund an endowment that would be managed by a group of volunteers and MD Anderson staff members. Under the guidance of Volunteer Services, it would grow to benefit patients and their caregivers. A volunteer committee was soon formed and the group began taking donations for Vietor’s brainchild, which eventually became The Volunteer Endowment for Patient Support (VEPS). With an original goal of building the endowment to $1 million in 10 years, the goal was achieved in just nine years. Currently, the endowment stands at more than $2.5 million, and has disbursed $1.7 million since 1992. Each quarter, the interest generated from the endowment is returned to fund patientoriented programs and services at MD Anderson. This vision to raise funds to improve the quality of life for patients and their families is now managed by the VEPS Disbursement Committee. It equitably distributes funds originating from the accrued interest of the Volunteer Endowment for Patient Support to meet the social, emotional, comfort, informational and recreational needs of patients at MD Anderson Cancer Center. In 1992, the first year that funds were distributed, eight programs received a total of $19,611. As the interest from the endowment grew, so did the disbursements. In 2000, 16 programs were awarded $68,265, and by comparison in 2010, 28 programs, such as those listed below, received $147,823. • Educational videos, materials and resources • National Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week
The Volunteer Endowment for Patient Support appreciates the encouragement and assistance it receives from MD Anderson staff and friends. Pictured here (from left) are Steve Stuyck, vice president for Public Affairs; Susan French, executive director, Volunteer Services; Judy and Charles Tate, co-chairs, VEPS Luncheon; Nancy Loeffler, MD Anderson patient, chair of MD Anderson’s Board of Visitors and VEPS Luncheon speaker; and Nancy Moncrief, MD Anderson patient and luncheon co-chair.
• Support groups • Holiday dinner for patients and caregivers • Child Life Program • Adult Memorial Service
• Survivorship Week 2010
• Recreational events for patients and their families
• Caregiver Support Program
• Stem Cell Caregiver Program page 3
Supporting VEPS helps the Department of Volunteer Services at MD Anderson continue to fund and provide important programs that benefit patients, their families and their caregivers. Donations to VEPS make a vital, positive difference in countless lives.
Show your MD Anderson spirit … It’s easy to be a fan of MD Anderson Cancer Center This year, Volunteer Services was fortunate to have Nancy Loeffler, an MD Anderson patient and chair of The University Cancer Foundation Board of Visitors, as the speaker for the annual Volunteer Endowment for Patient Support (VEPS) Luncheon on March 23. As Loeffler says in an article written for the Development Office publication, Promise, her commitment to MD Anderson is twofold. On one hand, she chairs the institution’s Board of Visitors, and finds it a pleasure and an honor to lead this dedicated, energized group, while targeting a crucial mission. Then, as an MD Anderson patient, she is committed on a more personal level. She finds that her journey has been made easier through those who support the cutting-edge research at MD Anderson. Loeffler expresses deep gratitude for the dedication she sees at the institution, and believes that she is living proof that MD Anderson is Making Cancer History.® The VEPS Luncheon, which was chaired by Nancy Moncrief and Judy and Charles Tate, was held at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston with Frost Bank as the presenting sponsor. * Includes Central Market donation of $100,000 deposited in Fiscal Year 2001 but not recognized in the endowment until Fiscal Year 2002.
Relocation Update: Work on the re-location of both the Cyber Center and the Patient/Family Center, as well as other institutional redevelopment projects, has been temporarily suspended. However, it is our understanding that when the project team is authorized to proceed on the project, funding will be secured and the design stage will begin. Until that time, the project team will retain the documents for all work completed to date. Volunteer Services recognizes that redevelopment priorities shift from time to time. We will notify you when work resumes on this project. page 4
More than 400 supporters of MD Anderson and VEPS attended the annual fundraising luncheon.
page 5
Volunteer Services Annual Report 2010 Anderson Network Beauty/Barber Shop
Cyber Center
Gift Shops
Hospitality Centers
Appearances
Patient/Family Center
Patient/Family Library
Our Mission … to provide excellence in volunteer service and support to patients, families, faculty, staff and community partners with care, integrity and compassion. Our Vision … through our committed and caring volunteer team, we will be the foremost leader in providing innovative, effective volunteer support services dedicated to improving the quality of life of cancer patients. The Value of Our Volunteer Commitment Fiscal Year 2010 closed with 1,215 trained volunteers contributing 195,268 hours of service, equivalent to 94 FTEs. The value of a volunteer’s time and talent is calculated each year by the independent sector. Although the volunteer contribution to our patients, caregivers and visitors is immeasurable, the value of their commitment to MD Anderson amounted to $4,071,338 in FY10. The Volunteer Component Trained volunteers serve the MD Anderson campus through day, evening and weekend programs. Daytime volunteers comprise 83% of total hours while evening volunteers contribute 8%, weekend volunteers 5% and teens total 4%. Volunteers serve our patients in more than 66 programs and through 105 unique positions. Volunteer Patient/Caregiver Contacts Volunteers serve inpatients, outpatients and caregivers on the main MD Anderson campus and at four regional care centers. A significant focus in FY10 was to identify and document all volunteer patient/caregiver contacts. The results are summarized and illustrated in the following chart. Representative programs of each category are highlighted. INPATIENT VISITS/SUPPORT
PATIENT SERVICES PROGRAMS
Bilingual Floor Host
Beauty/Barber Shop
Floor Host
Cyber Center Patient/Family Center Place … of wellness Spiritual Care-Main & Mays
CLINIC SUPPORT & PEDIATRIC PROGRAMS ATC/Transfusion-Main & Mays
Patient Advocates PATIENT SERVICES INPATIENT VISITS/SUPPORT
PROGRAMS
85,635 Contacts
109,897 Contacts
CLINIC SUPPORT & PEDIATRIC PROGRAMS
ANDERSON NETWORK
ANDERSON NETWORK
HOSPITALITY CENTERS
HOSPITALITY CENTERS
100,332 Visitors
Main Building Mays Clinic
94,165 Contacts
Breast Diagnostic/Pink Ribbon
SURGERY/
Diagnostic Imaging-Main & Mays
CAREGIVER
Emergency Center
SUPPORT
Pedi Programs
PATIENT INFORMATION 104,009 Contacts
46,143 Contacts
Radiation Oncology-Main & Mays
PATIENT INFORMATION
SURGERY/CAREGIVER SUPPORT
Concierge Desk
ICU
Information Desk-Main & Mays
Outpatient Surgery-Main & Mays
Patient Education-Main & Mays
Surgery Waiting
Patient Navigator
page 6
Highlights of Volunteer Services Appearances – Providing Specialty Items for Cancer Patients Certified mastectomy fitters and trained volunteers offer a unique resource in a shop that complements patients and their lifestyles. The shop generated $207,893 in retail sales and $277,006 in patient billable transactions for a combined total of $484,899, a 3% increase over FY09. Appearances served the needs of breast cancer patients through 898 post-breast surgery/mastectomy fittings. Beauty/Barber Shop Coordinated by two licensed cosmetologists and supported by volunteers, the Beauty/Barber Shop provides specialized hair and head care services to MD Anderson inpatients and outpatients. In addition to the more than 11,000 hair care services rendered during FY10, scarves, turbans and wigs were provided at no charge to patients. Gift Shop Operation The Gift Shops produced revenue of $3,168,661. The five gift shops served 359,658 customers or approximately 1,000 customers each day of the year. Proceeds from the gift shop operation totaling $400,000 provided funding in FY10 for patient programs, volunteer support and 17 teen volunteer college scholarships. Patient/Family Library The Patient/Family Library, located near The Aquarium in the Clark Clinic lobby, is a resource for recreational reading materials and attracts 100-125 visitors daily. The library serves as a quiet haven for patients and caregivers. In FY10, more than 54,000 items were circulated from the library and approximately 24,000 paperback books were distributed to the clinic waiting areas by volunteers. Volunteer Endowment for Patient Support Established in 1991, the endowment corpus has reached $2,513,343. The VEPS endowment serves the exclusive purpose of providing funds generated from its accrued interest and disbursed to meet the social, emotional, educational, recreational and comfort needs of MD Anderson patients, their families and caregivers. The VEPS Disbursement Committee distributed $122,273 in allocations of income to 24 institutional programs during the year. More than $1,550,000 has been distributed since the inception of the endowment.
•
Anderson Network’s membership grew to 1,715 survivor and caregiver volunteers in FY10, enabling us to match more than 1,000 newly diagnosed patients, survivors and caregivers to those with similar diagnoses, treatments and experiences. Our Patient and Caregiver Support Line and Pediatric Caregiver Telephone Support Network match patients in 12 primary cancer sites and more than 108 different cell types/diagnoses, as well as in a wide variation of treatments and procedures.
•
Volunteers in the two MD Anderson Hospitality Centers served more than 100,000 patient and caregiver guests in FY10, “patient to patient, friend to friend.”
• Cancer 180, a program designed to meet the unique needs of young adult cancer survivors, secured funding for a pilot community outreach program to be implemented in FY11. •
The 21st Annual Anderson Network Patient and Caregiver Conference, “The Strength Within,” grew its outreach and support to Spanish speaking patients and caregivers, as well as young adult survivors.
•
All 15 Anderson Network programs continue to thrive and respond to the psychosocial needs of our survivor and caregiver populations. For example, Partners in Knowledge, News in Cancer (PIKNIC), an informal education program for patients and caregivers, was expanded to the Regional Care Center in the Bay Area and had 526 participants, and the Network newsletter is now sent to 119,000 subscribers.
page 7
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PA I D Houston, Texas Permit No. 7052
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Cancer Center Volunteer Services 163100 /30076654 — Unit 115 1515 Holcombe Houston Texas 77030-3800
Volunteer Continuing Education Events
Spring 2011
Attending this event meets your annual Volunteer Continuing Education requirement.
Saturday, June 4, 9-11:30 a.m., G10.3315 Thursday, Aug. 4, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., R11.1100, Room 6
Please contact Volunteer Services at 713-792-7180 or mdonnelly@ mdanderson.org to make a reservation.
RSVP: 713-792-7180 or mdonnelly@ mdanderson.org
Advances in Phase I Clinical Trials
MD Anderson Customer Service Training
Friday, May 13, 10-11:30 a.m. Main Building, Floor 2, AT&T Auditorium
Orientation II This workshop includes tips for communicating with patients, the patient perspective and information about MD Anderson’s psychosocial support services.
Available online June-Aug. 31
To register: 713-792-7180 or mdonnelly@mdanderson.org.
Upcoming Events for Volunteer Services: Texas Medical Center Salute to Volunteers - MD Anderson honors Mitch Malvous May 10, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. United Way, 50 Waugh Jennifer Arnold, M.D., speaker Cancer Survivorship Week June 5-10 MD Anderson Cancer Center Anderson Network Cancer Survivorship Conference Sept. 16-17 Omni Westside Hotel
Volunteer Priority Needs: Floor hosts (Thursday evening; Friday daytime and evening) — floor host volunteers visit with hospital inpatients and their families on the hospital floors. Volunteers may also pick up and distribute patient mail, newspapers, TV guides and magazines. Depending on individual needs, each patient visit is different and may involve only an introduction to the hospital’s resources and amenities or prolonged interaction.