Auxiliary volunteers contributions invaluable to NUMC

From greeting guests and visitors to crocheting tiny hats for newborns, the work of volunteers can be seen in virtually all areas of the New Ulm Medical Center.

The contributions of volunteers, most of whom belong to the Medical Center Auxiliary, saves the medical center and its personnel time and money.

In 2004 alone, the medical center’s 153 active volunteers worked more than 7,500 hours. That work, if completed by paid staff members, would have increased the medical center’s payroll by $131,726 dollars, said Brenda Jones, volunteer coordinator.

For those who know the tradition of volunteerism at New Ulm’s health care facilities, those figures should come as no surprise.

Since 1947, when the auxiliary, called the Red Cross Gray Ladies, was formed at Union Hospital, volunteers have been working behind the scenes to provide better health care to area citizens, said Betty Thorson, auxiliary president.

Through the years, the work of volunteers has become increasingly important, said Thorson, who began volunteering when she retired four years ago.

“In this day and age, the work of volunteers is essential to the functioning of the Medical Center,” Thorson said. ”They aren’t doing the things staff members are paid to do. They assist staff members by doing the extra things. “

These things belong in the ‘whatever else is required’ category of a job description, added Jones.

“They help do some of the administrative work, so doctors and nurses can focus on patient care,” Thorson said.

Currently, volunteers greet and direct visitors at the hospital’s front desk; sell items and work the cash register in the coffee shop; sit with hospitalized children if their parents cannot be with them at all times; help out in the radiology department, on the medical/surgical floor, and the oncology and emergency departments. Behind the scenes, volunteers schedule other volunteers, crochet baby caps and sew tummy pillows for those recovering from abdominal surgery.

Just as important as the actual work volunteers do, is the way they go about doing it, Jones said.

“New Ulm Medical Center wouldn’t seem as caring and friendly without them,” she said. “Our volunteers are wonderful at smiling and greeting people, making families and visitors comfortable and just creating a welcoming atmosphere.”

To that end, the auxiliary knows there will be a need to recruit even more volunteers in the upcoming years.

“Across the medical center, more and more departments are identifying things a volunteer can do and asking for help. Our need for volunteers continues to grow,” Thorson said.

For example, with the recent switch to individualized menus in the dietary services department, that department now needs help taking meal orders from hospital patients. Other areas in the medical center, such as the clinic’s front desk, are searching for additional volunteers to assist patients. There is also a need for volunteers who enjoy clerical work and can commit a few hours a week to work in the same department. “Once they get to know a department, they really begin to feel like a part of that team,” said Thorson.

“As our volunteer group has grown, we have begun to staff more shifts, such as an 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. slot to run the coffee shop cash register and a 12:00 (Noon) to 3 p.m. shift to greet people at the hospital front desk. These may be perfect hours for someone with children in school,” Thorson said.

Jones added that training is always provided to volunteers when they start working.

“We work to put volunteers where they feel comfortable and can use the skills they have. Almost always, we can find the right match for them,” Jones said. “It is important they do a job they enjoy.”

Just as the Auxiliary volunteer program makes it possible for individuals to provide a tremendous service, so too does the service group depend on small monetary contributions to achieve great feats.

For instance, during last year’s annual Sensational Santa sale, people donated thousands of Christmas-themed items, enough to fill up several rooms. Even at the bargain basement price of .50 cents apiece, the sale raised more than $1,000 for the Auxiliary.

Over the last several years, fundraising efforts have allowed the group, which currently has 231 members, to donate more than $50,000 a year to the medical center.

“Every penny of money raised at one of our fundraisers goes right back into the medical center to buy new equipment or support programs that make a difference to our patients. Every volunteer hour helps to improve the experience a patient has,” Thorson said. “Donating time or money to the medical center gives each of us a chance to add to our health care system.”

New Ulm Medical Center
1324 Fifth North Street
New Ulm, MN 56073
507-233-1000
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