Hats Off to Volunteers in Surgical Waiting Areas

Volunteer Month in April is a good time to spotlight the key role volunteers play in the hospital's fifth and eighth floor surgical waiting areas.

The general surgical waiting area in 8150 Gibbon is where family and friends of loved ones wait for news of inpatients having surgery or of patients having short procedures. It came into being in 1991 thanks, in large measure, to a grant from the hospital's Women's Board and staff support by nursing service. About 14 volunteers, several of whom are Jefferson employees on their lunch hours, staff the area each month.

A newer area, opened in February 1994, is the cardiac surgery waiting area, created at the request of Jefferson cardiothoracic surgeons who encourage family members to wait near the units. This waiting area is on the fifth floor of Gibbon, near the medical and coronary units.

Volunteers perform many crucial services for those in the two waiting areas. Their prime function is to coordinate the flow of information from the clinical staff to families and friends of patients. The volunteers' services fit with the unique role performed by Jefferson's clinical support nurses who pass on specific information about a surgical patient every two hours to family and friends.

Working together, the nurses and volunteers provide practical and emotional support during this stressful time.

"These are among the most challenging volunteer positions we have," says Patricia Wallace, manager, volunteer services and patient information. "In these and other volunteer positions we are always prepared to meet the special needs of doctors, nurses and patients."

To apply for a volunteer position, call 5-6222.