Shining Nightingales

This Junior League of Little Rock committee helps support families when they need it most

by: Monica McGee

Meet active member Jennifer Hoss, Chair of Nightingales, a JLLR community project that assists families with loved ones receiving medical treatment. We asked Jennifer a few questions to learn more about Nightingales, share her experience as a third-year committee member, and find out how we could support the cause, which has been a JLLR committee since 1999.

Q: What is Nightingales?

A: Nightingales plans and facilitates weekly activity nights for parents and caregivers of Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH). We also provide snacks for patients and parents residing at the Home for Healing, formerly known as the UAMS Family Home, which provides free and convenient lodging while patients receive medical treatment.

Q: What kinds of opportunities does Nightingales provide for JLLR members?

A: Placement with Nightingales provides an opportunity for members to directly volunteer with members of the community. We provide services to caregivers and patients who are often in a stressful time in their lives, giving these people some respite. We also offer snacks, which help nourish their bodies when they may not have the means or opportunity to do so themselves. In addition, because Nightingales volunteers are required to meet the volunteer requirements of ACH, which requires certain training, up-to-date immunizations, and TB testing, Nightingales members are also able to volunteer at ACH for other functions, should they so desire.

Q: What is a standout moment for you as being part of the Nightingales committee?

A: In 2021, the Nightingales were not able to host Bingo night at ACH due to pandemic policies, but we were allowed to deliver snacks to certain departments at the hospital. Nightingales volunteers would load up a cart with snacks and small prizes (like cozy socks) and walk to each department to offer these items to caregivers. One night, one woman came to the snack cart seeming a bit lost and frantic. Unprompted— because ACH volunteers are trained to never ask such to what she was going through.” questions—the woman explained how her teenager had just been life-flighted from Oklahoma to receive lifesaving treatment. As a major medical facility, ACH was the closest hospital that could provide the services her teenager needed. She explained she had just arrived via helicopter with nothing but what she had on and was grateful for the snacks we provided that would now likely be her dinner. We listened. When she finished, she quickly left the room to await news of her loved one. While she was grateful for the snacks and socks, I got the sense she really needed someone to listen to what she was going through. Even though our training limits the type of response we could have provided, I think our presence was the most impactful that night.

Q: How does the purpose of the Nightingales committee resonate with you personally?

A: I really enjoy serving on Nightingales. I picked this committee because when I was younger, my dad had cancer that required him to travel to another city—a 12-hour drive from home—to receive treatment. We didn’t know anyone in this city and without the help of a place like Home for Healing, he would not have been able to receive the treatment he needed. My dad was able to make a full recovery. I know how impactful a place like that was for my family, and I like being able to “pay it forward” now as a part of the Junior League.