The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 30, 1998, Page 3, Image 3
A he/re here. And this time, if s personal.
Whether in orthopedics, the emergency room,
the nursery or pediatrics, Personal Touch volunteers
are offering their time and skills to both
patients and nurses at Baptist Medical Center.
Volunteers' tasks include talking with patients,
helping distribute and
collect meal trays, assisting / /
with natiant. discharge and
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PERSONAL
Students give
* asst. features editor KRISTIN FREESTATE
m
0 according to marketing/re- As a volunteer, I
cniitment coordinator Kristi for the people if t!
Davis, providing "hands-on thing, whether th
patient care that normally patiei
a family member would or
could do." r
According to Davis, the ? itprogram
was established in Persona Touc
1990 under the supervision
of director Eleanor Whitehead
"because of a need
voiced by patients and staff to fill a void that
0 was growing" between patients and nurses.
Volunteers from high-school age to retirees
have helped fill this void by performing what
Davis described as more "nonmedical tasks,"
thereby allowing the nurses to attend to the
"more technical tasks."
And although the minimum age for volunteering
is 16, Davis said, "The volunteers come
from all different walks of life and all different
aces. There's no generalities about them. They're
all different."
Junior Kelly Maberry, who volunteers in the
0 pediatrics unit and joined the program because
she hopes to become a pediatrician, noticed these
differences immediately.
"What surprised me was at training," she
said. I was expecting a whole group of premed
students, but they weren't," Maberry said.
Potential volunteers are initially accepted
or turned down from the program based on an
application, two references and an interview.
Those who are accepted must attend a two-and1
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a-half day training session that includes completing
a personality test, listening to speakers
about subjects such as communication and coping
wit^i grief, learning massage therapy and
becoming oriented with the hospital and patient
rooms.
After the training session, eligible volunteers
undergo the final cut for the program.
Those accepted undergo bloodwork and various
tests and are assigned to a
specific unit.
Volunteers must work
try to be there for a minimum of one fourhey
need some- hour shift per week and auiey're
nurses or tomatically commit to one
its. year of service.
In placing volunteers,
orley, Davis said, "the aim is to
:h Volunteer serve as many patient care
areas as we can and to fill
A every shift that needs to be
7 / filled with volunteers."
Registered nurse Rossie
Bowen seems to appreciate the work of the Personal
Touch volunteers.
"The patients really seem to like the Personal
Touch volunteers, so normally, I think
they have a positive effect," she said. I think the
family appreciates getting the extra attention."
However, nurses and natients are not the
only ones who get something from the program.
Most of the volunteers believe they have benefitted
as well, Davis said. She said she finds a
personal reward in "seeing satisfaction on volunteers'
faces."
Maberry finds satisfaction in easing the patients'
stay.
"I am there to help the patients feel more
comfortable in the hospital," she said. "I'm supposed
to try to make it a better experience for
them."
Regardless of whether Maberry and the others
succeed in giving patients a better" experience,
the fact remains that working at a hospital
is not always a happy experience.
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Junior Kelly Maberry straightens The Outback
Baptist Medical Center. Maberry, a Personal 1
pediatrics "mostly because it's kids" and to gs
the medical field.
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are a lot of sad things that happen here at the di
hospital as well," Davis said. gr
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KRISTIN FREESTATE The Gamecock
, the playroom on the pediatrics unit at
rouch volunteer, chose to work in the
iin experience for her future career in
Volunteer Brian Corley, a junior,- said it is
fficult at times to know how to react in a
/en situation. The most challenging thing, he
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3aid, "is to be helpful and comforting at the same
time."
And while Maberry admits her favorite part
of the job is "holding babies," she said, "I think
it's reallv sad to have anvone in the hospital.
let alone a small child. So anything I can do to
make it better for the children is rewarding."
Corley agreed.
"As a volunteer, I try to be there for the people
if they need something, whether they're
nurses or patients," he said. "The good thing
is bringing a smile tp the face of a patient."
OOPS! 1
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