Methodist Hospitals Honors Dedicated Volunteers at Annual Volunteer Service Awards

Methodist Hospitals Honors Dedicated Volunteers at Annual Volunteer Service Awards

On Wednesday, Methodist Hospitals hosted their annual Volunteer Service Awards at Innsbrook Country Club in Merrillville. The banquet, which honors volunteers who have given their hours of time throughout the year, served a delicious lunch and provided entertainment from Wolffgang.

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“We have this every year to honor our volunteers for their service. It takes a special kind of person to be a volunteer. The volunteers always look forward to it and it’s our opportunity to thank them,” explained Evelyn Morrison, Manager of Marketing and Corporate Communications for Methodist Hospitals.

The event is held each year to not only honor the volunteers with Methodist who enable the hospital to provide the level of care they do, but to memorialize those who have passed away during the previous year. Each stage of the event emphasized appreciation and recognition for service, and also awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Cynthia Well-Rogers as part of their LPN to RN program, which was presented by Methodist Hospitals Auxiliary President, Emma Greenwood. 

The volunteers were certainly appreciated, as each one had their name called with the opportunity to stand for recognition, based on the number of hours they have volunteered during their time. For some, this bracket was over 25,000 hours over the course of 30-40 years with Methodist. Those who had passed during the previous year were not forgotten either, and for each of the nine volunteers lost over the previous year, a flower was placed into a vase to serve as a memorial to them.

“Those who have reached milestones as far as hours or years get a pin or a star,” explained Sophia Soto, Volunteer Coordinator for Methodist Hospitals. “They really are a vital part of our patient experience. The volunteers are a part of the team, they come in and do all kinds of things and help out. It makes not only the staff’s jobs run smoother, but contributes to patients having a great experience.

These volunteers mean a lot to Methodist hospitals by providing hours to complete activities, services, and other patient care initiatives. This class of volunteers, from August 1, 2016 to July 31,2017, donated 24,080 hours of work to the hospital, allowing even more amazing things to be accomplished.

“The volunteers become an extension of Methodist and through their service, we fulfill our mission. Our mission is to make sure we’re taking care of anyone who comes to us in need, regardless of their ability to pay,” said Judy Lindsey, Executive Director for the Methodist Hospitals Foundation. “Their collective generosity is indicative of their commitment. They epitomize what volunteering is and means for not only hospitals, but so many nonprofit organizations in this country.”

Each year, volunteers help Methodist fulfill the high standards of care they provide. Each and every volunteer provides important, vital services to deliver the best experience to patients at Methodist Hospitals.

For more information on Methodist Hospitals, visit: http://www.methodisthospitals.org/