After a temporary hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, the health system is thrilled to welcome our volunteers back to most areas they serve. We caught up with Cassie Kurtz, MHL, supervisor, Volunteer Services, to hear how we’re getting the program back on track.
Do you remember the date Parkview suspended the volunteer program in person?
Parkview Health suspended our in-person volunteer program for the first time in our history on March 13, 2020.
What were your initial thoughts when the program was suspended?
I had just started in this role, about a week prior to the 13th, after serving with Parkview for three years in a different capacity. Along with the fear of the unknown accompanying COVID itself, I was concerned for what this meant for the longevity of this program, the older adults who rely on these activities to support their longevity and community, and to remain active, but also for my career. It was a hard reality to face during a month that began with so much excitement and eagerness. It quickly turned into a month – and then months – of ambiguity.
How did you keep the volunteers engaged during that time?
During the launch and throughout the pandemic, engagement was one of my top priorities. Unknown is scary and scary makes people question what matters most. Which means, extracurricular experiences may take a back seat, like volunteering. In April 2020 I launched weekly Friday e-mails. The goal was to keep our volunteer base informed of what was happening at Parkview, in our community, and with COVID. But it was also to offer them ways to cope and adjust to quickly changing landscapes. We offered educational resources, words of encouragement, personal thanks, and more.
After about six months, this communication morphed into a Quarterly Connect newsletter, hitting mailboxes for the first time at the end of 2020. This is something that we still provide. It was a great way to provide a larger snapshot of things, send vital information out, and stay connected.
I also had the fortune of exchanging one-on-one e-mails with volunteers, many of whom also sent cards of encouragement to my office. We even offered a virtual training during that time, and I was able to see some faces on screen. Which was amazing!
Outside of this, we launched a call program in partnership with Parkview Senior Health Services. Our amazing volunteers (around 100 of them) made regular weekly or bi-weekly check-in calls with Parkview Senior Club members to keep their social connectivity engaged and thriving. This was two groups of individuals who went from an abundance of community connection to essentially being isolated in their homes during an already vulnerable stage in life that accompanies aging. The program just made perfect sense.
We were fortunate to offer some tasks volunteers could do from home, such as mask making or packet assembly, as well as some limited on-site work as time went on, such as gown folding or test kit assembly in isolated areas with small teams equipped with appropriate PPE. Eventually, volunteers even worked in the COVID Vaccine Clinic at the Parkview Mirro Center.
In 2021 we did a drive-thru appreciation event, where I was able to greet each volunteer as they pulled up and thank them for sticking with us while providing them some goodies.
What were the sentiments of the volunteers who chose to continue volunteering during the pandemic?
Without a doubt, they were grateful. They were longing to return and saddened by not being able to do more. We really have an amazing, large core group of stellar volunteers who, despite their own fears around the virus, just wanted to help. They were also so thankful for the grace to step back when necessary and the space to guide their own comfort and involvement. They were so dedicated to our connection and our community.
When did Parkview bring volunteers back into our patient facilities?
In-person volunteering returned in a series of stages spanning several months beginning in March 2021 (aside from some very small pocket groups folding gowns and putting together kits). We brought them back with the intention of moving from least potential risk of exposure to most potential risk, with many new guidelines and practices in place. The final wave of volunteers did not return to serve until March 2022—a full two years later! And the majority of those who remained paused stuck with us through it all! Just amazing.
How did it feel to bring the volunteers back?
In 2021, I was excited and apprehensive during our return plan, as we kept seeing new waves of COVID cases. This meant the plan had to take time and we could not rush our returns. I monitored COVID data daily and stayed connected with leaders to ensure we were keeping our volunteers as safe as possible, but also reducing foot traffic when able and not crowding our clinical areas. It also meant we had to continue engaging our volunteers to retain as many of them as possible. It still felt uncertain at times and some days were harder than others.
In 2022, when I made the initial contact inviting our last remaining groups of volunteers back to Parkview Cancer Institute, the Emergency Department, our ICU areas, and a few remaining medical floors, I cried, something I did not anticipate doing. But the amount of joy I felt saying I was finally inviting them back after two years was overwhelming. I received immediate responses from folks I knew had been waiting and waiting to return. I could feel the joy in their words, and I knew we had finally made it to brighter days. I know that was a moment that many of us, myself included, began to wonder at times if we would ever see. I also heard immediate responses from our leaders who were eager to have their volunteer teams back and had missed them immensely. It was almost like waking up Christmas morning, every email that day was more positivity in a world that had been so dark for so long in many respects. I felt whole. Like all the pieces of the puzzle finally settled back into place.
What makes Parkview volunteers so valuable to the health system?
Simple. Our volunteers are some of the most selfless, compassionate, dedicated, flexible, and person-centered people I have ever met. Each with a skillset unique from the other, but all with a heart to help.
They want to be part of the difference. They want to take their time and talents and lend them to our co-workers and our guests. It takes a special person to give their time. Time is one of the most precious things we have and how we spend it really matters. The fact that they come in so eager to spend their time helping all of us is so special.
Where are volunteers currently serving in the health system?
Our volunteers serve in a multitude of roles that include clerical support, patient interaction such as wayfinding, greeting or conversation, environmental support by stocking, organizing and cleaning, and special projects with a vast array of tasks. Some do these tasks from home, but the majority are serving in many areas of Parkview Regional Medical Center, Parkview Hospital Randallia and the Parkview Distribution Center.
How can someone become a Parkview volunteer?
Interested individuals ages 18 years of age or older, who can dedicate a minimum of four hours per week on a recurring schedule for at least three consecutive months, are encouraged to visit the website here to explore our locations accepting applicants and apply. Upon receiving an application, the applicants are contacted to discuss opportunities that are available in more detail.
What would you like to say to our Parkview volunteers?
It is truly an honor and highlight in my life to serve alongside our volunteers. I have had the true fortune of meeting some of the most amazing people, who bring the most interesting and useful skillsets to our health system. And they do it out of the goodness of their hearts. I have been fortunate to learn who they are at their core, hear their unique life stories, and place them in areas that benefit us all.
Our volunteers are very much a part of our heartbeat here at Parkview. As I always say to them, we are not necessary to the clinical needs of a patient, but we are that extra-special sprinkle on top of those experiences. What we do can make such an amazing difference for our co-workers and our guests. So, in that sense, we become vital to patient experience. We are very much a vessel to a successful patient visit. I could not be prouder of who they are and what they do at Parkview. While they feel lucky to be here giving back, I feel lucky to have them. It’s a blessing to us all.