Volunteers Recognized for Their Efforts

COLTON >> Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) recently honored its volunteers in honor of National Volunteer Week. “Volunteer Week is about giving time and touching hearts,” says Pat Redinger, ARMC volunteer director. “The hospital’s volunteers provide support and assistance to help serve the needs of patients, families, visitors, and staff.” ARMC’s volunteers have been a force behind the Medical Center since the early 1900s. Volunteers from the community were the ones who enabled the hospital to be self-sufficient, by canning and preserving fruits and vegetables grown on the land surrounding the grounds of the hospital. A formal volunteer group was organized at the hospital in 1958. They were known as the “Sunshine Ladies,” and the volunteers wore yellow and white uniforms as a symbol of the light they brought into patients’ lives. What do volunteers do? • Escort patients and visitors throughout the hospital • Connect with patients through the Friendly Visitor or Living History programs • Provide pet therapy services • Coordinate the Children’s Reading Program • Assist with bilingual visitors • Provide spiritual care to patients and families • Provide knitted beanies and booties to our newborns • Provide quilts to patients for comfort • Distribute gifts for patients during the holidays There are currently about 250 volunteers at ARMC, who donated approximately 36,000 hours of their time and talent to the hospital in 2015.