“It’s hard to imagine CHRISTUS Spohn’s hospitals without our volunteers.”
Marissa Carrillo, CHRISTUS Spohn’s Director of Volunteer Services, knows just how important it is to have the support of the hundreds of individuals who are called to help serve the hospital system’s mission and ministry.
In fact, those men, women and youths are vital to the daily operations of six hospital campuses across South Texas and at the CHRISTUS Spohn Cancer Center.
Karen Bonner (at podium), Vice President for Philanthropy of the CHRISTUS Spohn Foundation, installs new volunteer presidents during the annual volunteer meeting. Presidents, from left, are Cynthia Martinez – Memorial; Norma Burnside – South; Delia Alvarez – Kleberg; Olga Bell – Shoreline; and Imelda Gonzalez – Alice.
“They are very much a part of our team,” says Carrillo. “Patients and their families are very comfortable around our volunteers. They offer smiles, the understanding ear, comfort and the healing touch.”
During 2015, more than 600 volunteers donated more than 134,000 hours of service to CHRISTUS Spohn and its mission — the equivalent of almost 5,600 days.
In addition to that valuable service, the volunteers also donated almost $240,000 to fund equipment and special projects throughout their facilities, says Carrillo.
There are multiple volunteer programs aimed at linking those who want to give back to CHRISTUS Spohn and the best area in which to help.
The adult volunteer program caters to anyone who would like to give of their time to CHRISTUS Spohn, while the college volunteer and junior volunteer programs are designed to provide Coastal Bend students with firsthand opportunities to understand the multiple career paths offered at hospitals and in health care fields. There is even a pet therapy volunteer program to help in healing. It is believed that the dogs that receive special training alter a room’s atmosphere by changing a stressful hospital stay into a more calming experience for CHRISTUS Spohn’s patients.
CHRISTUS Spohn volunteers also were honored with multiple awards and honors at last year’s annual Texas Association of Healthcare Volunteers Convention.
Imelda Gonzalez, President of the CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital-Alice volunteers, sums up the sentiment of many individuals who donate their service to our health care mission and ministry.
“Volunteering provides for me, personally, a deep feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment through the sharing of my time, skills and talents,” says Gonzalez.
Volunteers play an important role in supporting CHRISTUS Spohn Health System. They work at information desks, surgery waiting, emergency departments, dietary departments, spiritual care, radiology, admitting, the nursery, gift shops, education department, and in our nursing units. For more information on being a volunteer, contact Marissa Carrillo, Director of Volunteer Services, at 361-881-3160 or marissa.carrillo@christushealth.org.
Click here to view in 2015 Annual Report.
Posted on May 18, 2016