It was during a critical time in Royal Victoria Hospital’s history that the crucial role volunteers play there really hit home for Guy Hachey.
It was the spring of 2003 and the hospital was in the midst of the SARS crisis. As per Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care orders, the hospital had been closed off to all but essential staff and patients.
Hachey was in performing his duties as an operating room porter when the call came over the PA system calling all senior staff to an emergency meeting.
“They had never done that before,” recalled the long-time volunteer. Shortly after, another call went out, telling people they had to leave, including all the volunteers.
Two days later, Hachey received a call from the hospital. He was needed and they asked they him and about two dozen other volunteers come in to help staff who were having a difficult time dealing with the crisis without them.
“They called us non-paid staff,” he said.
Like everyone else going in to the hospital during that time, volunteers were required to don full protective gear – gowns and masks and they aware of the risks they faced by coming in.
During that time, the volunteers would be able to pick up items for patients that family members had dropped off; they kept patients informed on what was happening and they helped everywhere they could.
“It made me realize how valuable we were,” said Hachey.
Val Bennett couldn’t agree more. She is the hospital’s director of volunteer services, leading a small army of volunteers. Last year, they contributed about 130,000 hours of their time and energy doing everything from answering phones and stocking supplies to running the gift shop and directing visitors. They are in almost every part of the hospital.
Even before SARS, Hachey realized the contribution volunteers make to a hospital because he’s seen it from a different perspective. “I was in health care all my life,” he said. His last role was as CEO of a hospital in eastern Canada. “I could see the benefits of volunteers.”
But he said there’s something special at RVH. “What strikes me here at RVH is that the volunteers are certainly made to be part of the team. You’re not just running errands. You’re really involved. That’s probably why they’re so successful,” he said of the hospital’s successful recruitment of new members.
“You really feel like you’re accomplishing something here.”
Hachey is currently an operating room porter and its convener, which means he also trains new recruits and arranges the schedules.
The porter role entails picking up the patients ready to go in for surgery. It’s a role he’s been filling once or twice a week for more than seven years.
Many of the volunteers at the hospital have been doing it for a number of years, said Bennett. In fact, the longest-serving member of what is affectionately known as the Blue Brigade (named for their tell-tale blue smocks) has been doing it for 45 years. Their ages range from 16 to 91.
There are about 1,000 volunteers at the hospital and they lend a hand in 98 different areas. This means there are a wide variety of positions available. Portering, or transporting patients from one part of the hospital to another, the greeters at the information desk and those behind the counter at the coffee shop and gift shop are the most visible, but there are others who do clerical work behind the scenes or help out in the mental health or maternity wards.
The demand for services has been climbing for years as the number of patients continues to grow. In 2006, there were 42,842 portering calls, compared to 19,610 in 2000. Bennett expects these numbers will continue to go up, particularly after the hospital expansion and cancer centre opens in 2011.
The turnover is low, but because many are retirees, some get to the point they are unable to do the work. “The work sometimes gets to be too much,” said Bennett.
They bring in about 100 new people every year to replace people who have left. “We ask for a one-year commitment,” she said, but many stay much longer.
Helen Thompson is one of them. Her work at the hospital began 18 years ago after a co-worker told her about the opportunities at the now former hospital building.
The Barrie resident is usually there once a week, serving coffee and snacks to the hospital’s staff, patients and visitors from the hospital’s coffee bar.
She began her volunteering at the hospital by helping direct visitors at the information desk, but has moved around a bit since then including a couple years on the auxiliary, which raises funds for hospital equipment.
“I like the atmosphere,” she said of why she keeps coming back. “Where else can you meet such a nice group of people?”
Over the years, she’s gotten to know many of the staff and she also feels her commitment not only benefits the hospital, but she gets something out of it as well. “There’s a real sense of self-satisfaction,” she said.
The volunteer services department is always looking for new recruits. It has monthly orientation sessions for potential volunteers.
There is a bit of a process new volunteers must go through in order to qualify, described Bennett.
“We’re not just looking at filling spaces with warm bodies.”
Care is also taken as to where volunteers are placed to ensure it’s a good fit for everyone.
Potential volunteers are interviewed twice, once on the phone and again in person, they must submit a police check, provide two references and have a tuberculosis test done. Once a new volunteer has been accepted, there is a training period before they start their new role. “The whole process takes about a month.”
Bennett has noticed in the past year that the demographics of potential volunteers are changing.
They are becoming a broader age group with more women in their later 30s and early 40s showing more interest. High school and university students are also increasingly getting on board. “It’s no longer just retired women.” Women do still make up the majority of the blue brigade, with just 16 per cent of them being men.
For more information on how to get involved in volunteering at RVH, check out the website and follow the links, or call 739-5650.
