From wayfinding to supporting patients and families, volunteers play an important role. Their compassion and commitment to helping others ensures that LHSC continues to provide the highest quality care to patients.
April 18, 2023
(LONDON, Ontario) – Volunteers at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) play a vital role in supporting patients, visitors and care teams and LHSC is celebrating them during National Volunteer Week.
“Team LHSC is strengthened by the care and dedication of our incredible volunteers,” says Meaghan Innes, Manager of Volunteer Services at LHSC. “Visiting the hospital can feel overwhelming, and you will find our volunteers throughout the hospital offering assistance and support. They are often that friendly and welcoming first point of contact for patients and families when they arrive.”
While volunteers dedicate their time to LHSC for several different reasons, Innes notes that many of them have a strong desire to give back after being on the receiving end of care.
That’s where Bruce Knight’s 15-year volunteer journey began. After completing chemotherapy for hairy cell leukemia at the Verspeeten Family Care Centre in 2005, he decided his personal experience with the program placed him in a unique position to help reduce the stress on those currently in it.
“Even after fifteen years of volunteering, I find my time at Verspeeten Family Care Centre to be very rewarding every single week,” says Knight. “It starts with the staff that truly appreciate having me there. It’s also obvious the patients appreciate the one-to-one time they have with a volunteer. I hope that my role, a smiling face, a listening ear, a kind voice, reduces their stress, just a little.”
When a patient arrives at the Verspeeten Family Care Centre at Victoria Hospital for the first time, volunteers like Knight show them around and help them get acquainted with the centre and processes for attending regular appointments. The impact this support has on patients who may be feeling nervous about beginning treatment is immeasurable.
Jordan Krupa, a five-year volunteer at LHSC, feels a similar calling. As a fourth-year PhD student volunteering in the OR waiting room at University Hospital, he was eager to return to volunteering once pandemic restrictions were lifted so he could help support frontline health care workers and give back to the organization that provided him with formative health care experience early on as an undergraduate a student.
“My volunteer shift is often the best part of my week. It energizes and motivates me because I know how much of an impact volunteers have on a patient’s experience,” says Krupa. “Having a loved one in for surgery can be stressful, and when I greet patients and their families on their surgery day, I hope to provide them with comfort and be someone they can easily come to with questions.”
LHSC’s volunteer program is currently rebuilding its complement of dedicated volunteers following the COVID-19 pandemic, making now a great time to get involved.
“There are many different volunteer roles at LHSC, enabling volunteers to try new things and gain experience in different areas of the hospital,” adds Innes. “Whether you’re looking to give back following care that you received, a student looking to gain more experience in the health-care sector or someone looking to give back to the community, there’s a number of rewarding volunteer options available.”
Learn more about volunteering at LHSC.
For more information please contact:
Elizabeth (Beth) Summers
Senior Media Relations Consultant
London Health Sciences Centre
519-685-8500 x77767
media@lhsc.on.ca
