Sentara in the Community

A Recipe for SUCCESS

Hospital volunteers bring ‘a little extra spice’ to the Sentara experience

Frank Carter and Jill Garnett possess valu-

able qualities that help them put others at ease.

“I’m a people person,” Carter says. “I enjoy people.”

And Garnett?

“I can talk with a brick wall,” she says. “I just thoroughly enjoy people. They’re fascinating.”

Carter and Garnett feel right at home in their respective roles as volunteers for Sentara RMH Medical Center and Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, projecting a sense of ease that tends to rub off on the people they interact with during their shifts. Carter, a Vietnam veteran who retired from a career at R.R. Donnelley, has been volunteering as a greeter at Sentara RMH’s Hahn Cancer Center for nine years. Garnett, a retired teacher and career specialist, has spent two years volunteering as a concierge at Sentara Martha Jefferson’s front desk.

Without the dedication of such selfless people, Sentara’s mission to provide the best health care possible would be much more challenging.

“Volunteers add passion and caring to the patient experience and the family experience, which directly supports our staff,” says Renee Dinwiddie, manager of Guest and Volunteer Services at Sentara Martha Jefferson. “Our volunteers really just add a little extra spice. They don’t replace staff members—rather, they are like the extra topping on our service to patients and families that sets us apart.”

A Key Ingredient

According to Crystal Collins, team coordinator for Sentara RMH Volunteer Services, volunteers are stationed in about 15 different areas of the hospital, offering a wide range of helpful services.

Volunteers run the gift shop register. They accompany cancer patients to radiation or the Infusion Center, picking up lunch for them if necessary. They serve as greeters, wayfinders and

shuttle drivers. And there are even a few furry four-legged volunteers who serve as therapy dogs.

“Volunteers are very important to the hospital,” Collins says. “We need people who are flexible and able to work a few hours a week, and community members of just about all ages are welcome to serve. Before the pandemic, in fact, we had volunteers who ranged from ages 15 to 94.”

Carter says he requested to be a greeter at the Hahn Cancer Center, having gone through chemotherapy there himself. According to Carter, he wanted to be able to give back to the people who provided him with such excellent care.

“I know how challenging chemo can be,” Carter says.

Having been in their shoes, Carter feels he knows when Cancer Center patients need someone to listen, and when the time is right to engage in conversation. What patients probably don’t realize, though, according to Carter, is that they’re doing as much good for him as he is for them.

“I enjoy my little spot,” Carter says of his seat at the front desk. “They help me, and I help them. I’m a Vietnam vet. I still struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. As long as I have someone to talk to, to laugh with, to joke with, I’m OK. I get to make so many valuable connections with patients.”

Dinwiddie says that when someone expresses interest in volunteering, it’s essential for coordinators to find a “beautiful marriage” between the person’s skills and the hospital’s needs.

“Volunteering should be a bright spot in their day,” she says. “We have a lot of different opportunities all throughout the hospital, so we try to identify what each volunteer is seeking in his or her heart. They don’t do frivolous jobs—they really impact the hospital’s success.”

Dinwiddie notes, importantly, that no volunteers are put in harm’s way—an especially important consideration since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The safety of our volunteers, just like that of our patients and staff, is a major priority,” she says. “If a volunteer is a little concerned about being in too public of a setting, we can put them as far away as possible. Their comfort, confidence and environment are the main focus. If any of those factors is off, the volunteer isn’t likely to stay.”

The Joys of Volunteering

According to Collins, Sentara RMH typically has about 200 active volunteers at any one time, though the number has dipped to about 60 recently as needs and policies have changed with the pandemic. Sentara Martha Jefferson relies on more than 50 volunteers each day to assist with operations and clinical unit needs, Dinwiddie notes. Remarkably, the longest-tenured volunteer at Sentara Martha Jefferson has been in service there for 61 years.

At Sentara RMH, when a prospective volunteer submits an application, Collins sets up an interview to review the volunteer’s expectations. Once all paperwork is returned, the volunteer receives a 90-minute orientation, followed by training in his or her specific volunteer area.

“After that, they are ready to volunteer on their own,” Collins says. “We do ask for a one-year commitment and that they volunteer one shift per week of three to four hours.”

The application process at Sentara Martha Jefferson follows

a similar route. When a prospective volunteer files an application online, Dinwiddie strives to match the individual with available volunteer openings.

“I work hard to make sure I find the best possible match between the volunteer and his or her assigned area of work,” she says.

Before work begins, the volunteer receives an orientation, fills out some paperwork and connects with the appropriate department contact.

“Then they’re off and running,” Dinwiddie says.

Since she started volunteering as a concierge at Sentara Martha Jefferson’s front desk about six weeks before the pandemic started in 2020, Garnett has been going full speed in her volunteer role.

Although the timing of the pandemic may have been imperfect, Garnett’s volunteer assignment was a perfect fit for her.

“It was exactly what I wanted to do,” Garnett says. “My volunteer position has been a really good match for me.”

Prior to volunteering, Garnett was a high school marketing teacher and career specialist for nearly 40 years. She enjoyed teaching customer service, never knowing how handy it would come in for her decades later.

“It fit in so well with my professional experience,” she explains.

For retirees who are considering volunteering— whether for a hospital or elsewhere—it’s important to draw on one’s past experience and find the right niche, she notes.

“The biggest skill I didn’t realize I would need at the front desk is simply being a problem solver,” Garnett adds. “I take so many calls, and everybody has a different question, request or need. It makes you realize how little you actually know.”

In their volunteer positions, both Garnett and Carter have made countless connections with patients and their families over the years. Carter says that the bonds have grown so strong with some families that he has even attended funerals—evidence that the impact of his volunteer service reaches far behind the hospital walls.

Garnett sees a parallel between the hospitals’ inviting atmosphere and the warmth involved in the volunteering experience.

“The environment is absolutely beautiful,” she says. “Both hospitals are warm, welcoming and beautifully designed. And I hope, as volunteers, we’re able to extend that warmth to our patients and their families.”

Interested in volunteering? Contact the appropriate person at your local Sentara hospital:

Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital:

Renee Dinwiddie

Manager, Guest and Volunteer Services rmwalker@sentara.com 434-654-7327

Sentara RMH Medical Center:

Crystal R. Collins

Team Coordinator, Volunteer Services crcolli1@sentara.com 540-689-6413