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H E A L T H
S C E N E
WHETHER IT’S BRINGING
a smile to someone who’s
sick or running an errand for a busy staff member, our
volunteers make such a difference in how Golden Valley
Memorial Hospital runs each day. In addition to their
time, they give support, encouragement and compassion.
But our volunteers quickly find out that volunteering
isn’t just about giving. They often tell us how much they
get out of their experience.
“Volunteering here has
been so rewarding,” says
Jan Wahl. “Each time I vol-
unteer, I come away feeling
like I made someone’s life a
little better.”
We want you to become a
volunteer too. Volunteering
at GVMH is a great chance
to interact with our com-
munity, to add variety to
your life, and to use your
skills and interests to help
others. Almost anyone can
volunteer—after all, there
are many tasks that need doing:
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Admitting/outpatient.
Volunteers show outpatients
to treatment areas and escort inpatients to hospital
rooms.
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Book cart.
The Auxiliary provides patient rooms and
waiting areas with reading materials.
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Gift Shop.
The Gift Shop, owned and operated by Aux-
iliary volunteers, is open seven days a week with three
four-hour shifts per day.
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Information desk.
Volunteers greet visitors and provide
appropriate patient information.
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Surgery waiting room.
In the surgery waiting area,
volunteers are a comforting presence to visitors, pro-
viding coffee and, upon request, obtaining appropriate
information about patients in surgery and recovery.
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Nourishment cart.
Volunteers offer drinks to patients
and their visitors once in the evenings, Monday through
Friday, from the nourishment cart.
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Clerical support.
Volunteers provide clerical support
to departments needing extra assistance with large mail-
ings, etc.
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Endoscopy.
Volunteers provide clerical support, run
errands, transport patients and generally assist the clini-
cal staff.
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Youth volunteers
—The Auxiliary has a youth volun-
teer program for 14 to 17-year-old students. Some choose
to volunteer only during the summer, but others like to
volunteer throughout the whole year.
At GVMH, put your interests into action and help oth-
ers at the same time. To learn more about how you can get
involved, call
660-890-7196
or visit
and
click on “Employment” and then “Volunteer Opportunities.”
F o u n da t i o n
CELEBRATING A QUARTER-CENTURY OF GIVING
VOLUNTEERING
FEELING GOOD
BY DOING GOOD
In 2013, volunteers donated
43,379 hours of their time to GVMH.
Youth volunteers donated
766 hours during the same year.
Your gifts help
GVMH grow. You
can donate online at
FOR THE PAST
25 years, caring donors in communities
served by Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare (GVMH)
have contributed more than $1 million to the GVMH
Foundation to help patients and provide the latest in
technology and equipment.
“What began as a simple meeting to discuss how best
to support quality healthcare at Golden Valley Memorial
Hospital has blossomed into an organization dedicated to
making a difference for patients, one life at a time,” says
Deanna Hendrich, foundation director.
Incorporated as a nonprofit organization on Feb. 14,
1989, the foundation quickly began to receive support
from donors and made its first grant—funds to purchase
an ultrasound machine for home health patients receiving
physical therapy—a year later.
Hendrich noted that many grants have followed
through the years, including:
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$50,000 to help establish the outpatient cardiac reha-
bilitation program at the hospital in 1997 plus additional
funds to update equipment used by patients.
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Numerous grants to area school districts to help pur-
chase automated external defibrillators (AEDS) and other
equipment to promote health and safety.
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More than $100,000 raised through the annual Dia-
betes Walk, held every year since 2005, to help patients
coping with the disease.
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$400,000 pledged to support a cooperative project
with LifeFlight Eagle to purchase a helicopter hangar and
build offices and a helipad on the GVMH campus in 2007.
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Nearly $200,000 raised through a fall gala to improve
testing and meet the needs of newborns, heart patients
and cancer patients.
“The grants were made possible because of the gener-
osity of individuals, organizations and businesses in the
communities served by GVMH,” Hendrich says. “We are
grateful for all our donors. Their continued generosity
and commitment to providing quality healthcare create
momentum that carries us forward.
“Memorials, annual gifts, event sponsorships, pledges
and estate gifts each serve a purpose,” Hendrich says. “Ev-
ery dollar matters. Planned giving can have a significant
impact, but no gift is too small. We started cardiac rehab
with the help of an estate gift, and so many patients have
benefited from that program. Yet the money donated by
someone who participates in the Diabetes Walk is just as
important when a patient needs to pay for a prescription
or supplies.”
Donations to the foundation, a 501(c)3 organization,
are tax-deductible and can be made anytime, whether in
person, through the mail or online. Gifts can go to support
a particular program or where most needed. For more
information, call the foundation office at
660-890-7108
,
email
dhendrich@gvmh.org
, or visit the foundation’s
pages at
.
GVMH Volunteers,
Jan and Gerry Wahl
