FARMINGTON — Faye DeVilbiss once served as a witness to a marriage ceremony in a hospital room.
The minister met DeVilbiss, a San Juan Regional Medical Center volunteer, in the elevator and asked her to join so he could marry a patient and hospital employee.
"That was just one story,"
DeVilbiss said.
Hospital volunteers say those kind of memories and the friendships forged with patients and employees make San Juan Regional Medical Center a great place to volunteer.
The hospital relies on around
120 volunteers such as DeVilbiss to work at its information desk, open 12 hours every day, seven days a week; to deliver magazines and newspapers to patients and to help in its gift shop.
Christmas Eve, volunteers delivered to patients more than 100 poinsettias that were donated.
"It put a lot of smiles on people's faces," said Teresa Becker, manager of the hospital's Volunteer Services.
Volunteers average three hours of work each week, Becker said.
"To do everything that we would like to do it does take a lot of people," she said.
Volunteers wear pink vests as part of their uniforms. People tell Kathleen Embrey, a hospital volunteer, that they appreciate her work when she wears the uniform in public.
"It
Pins fastened to the vests tell some of the stories of volunteers.
A pin Embrey wears shows she passed a training session in pushing people in wheel chairs.
One of DeVilbiss's pins shows she surpassed 4,000 volunteer hours. She has volunteered at the hospital for 14 years.
Some people have volunteered for decades at the hospital and have worked many more than 4,000 hours.
"That's like a drop in the bucket for a lot of folks," Becker said.
Embrey decided six years ago to volunteer after her sister was a patient in the hospital. She has volunteered ever since.
"I decided I shouldn't just be in the waiting room, I should be volunteering," said Embrey, also president of the San Juan Regional Medical Center Auxiliary, the hospital's fund-raising arm run by volunteers. The organization raises funds through sales of baked goods, jewelry and books by other means.
Linda Hitchcock, a volunteer, works at the Gift Market, the hospital's gift shop. People buy flowers, stuffed animals, cards and other items. Proceeds from products fund the nonprofit hospital.
Hitchcock likes helping fathers looking for gifts for their newborn babies.
"They are so precious when they come in and they're so excited," Hitchcock said.
Sometimes people are upset, she said.
"We try to offer them something that they can take that makes them feel better," she said.
DeVilbiss enjoys pleasant reactions from hospital patients as she delivers them flowers.
"It's one of my favorite jobs," said DeVilbiss, who walked about three miles every day at the hospital when she used to keep track with a pedometer.
Embrey said the hospital needs more volunteers.
"Lots more," she said.
Want to volunteer?
To volunteer at the San Juan Regional Medical Center, call Teresa Becker at (505) 609-6156.
Steve Lynn: slynn@daily-times.com
Font Resize
