By SUZANNE MARINO/Shore Medical Center
SOMERS POINT — National Volunteer Week began April 18 and is the perfect time to recognize the important role volunteers have at Shore Medical Center.
According to a news release, the hospital is home to great physicians, nurses and staff but as a community hospital, also is blessed to have community members give so willingly of their time to volunteer. They are grandparents, teachers, librarians, office workers and former employees. They welcome visitors, dispense information, work the gift shop, talk with patients, give directions, are the work force at both Shore Thrift Shops and, earlier this year, stepped up to help when Shore staff members were receiving their COVID-19 vaccines.
Lisa DiTroia, director of the Shore Auxiliary and Volunteer Services, works with the volunteers every day and said she is always amazed at how generous volunteers are of their time and their talent to lend a hand at the hospital.
“Our volunteers are wonderful. We were so happy to be able to have so many of them return as things begin to open up. We certainly missed them when the pandemic kept them home and I know our patients missed them as well,” DiTroia said.
Lori English, manager of the Shore Auxiliary Thrift Shops in Somers Point and Marmora, had nothing but praise and positive words for the volunteers who returned in July when the shops were able to reopen after being closed for months due to the pandemic.
“The volunteers are our workforce. Without them, we absolutely could not do it, we could not run our Thrift Shop,” English said.
Thrift Shop volunteer Barbara Hartling, of Egg Harbor Township, is a former TV news reporter and now a six-year volunteer in the shop, Hartling said she enjoys her role as a volunteer.
Mary Ellen Weathers, also of Egg Harbor Township, is another volunteer in the Thrift Shop. Twice a week Weathers helps customers and enjoys being part of the team. Retired from Verizon, Weathers said she wanted to something interesting two days a week and close to home.
Volunteers also meet new friends at the hospital. Dot Aitken of Ocean City was an X-ray technician and later a speech pathologist.
“I have always worked with people. I really enjoy it. My husband and I moved here from Vermont and did not know anyone. I did not want to work a full-time job but I look forward to having a schedule and meeting new people and I thoroughly enjoy being here in the gift shop one day a week. It is fun working at Shore and I have met many good friends,” she said.
Many of the volunteers are former Shore employees who want to give something back to the hospital where they spent so many years working. Stephanie Carracillo of Somers Point was a medical records supervisor at Shore for 30 years.
“When I retired, I wanted to give something back to the hospital so I started volunteering and I love it. Sometimes people come in and they are a little anxious. I hope when I talk with them I can distract them somewhat and make them feel a little more comfortable about being at the hospital,” Carracillo said.
Barbara Deaney of Ocean City spent a decade working with the Shore Medical Center Health Foundation and she now volunteers as a patient-family liaison. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Deaney would visit patients. Now she is reaching out to them via telephone.
“Patients can be frightened or lonely and we want them to know that we care about them as patients, of course, but also as people. I ask them, ‘How are you feeling today?’ It is not always easy but it is always purposeful when I am able to talk with a patient,” she said.
When the COVID-19 vaccine became available in December for staff, John Gosner, cardiology vascular/radiology manager, was tasked with helping set up for vaccinations and that meant finding the manpower to run the clinic. Reaching out to former employees to see if they might assist resulted in many retired nurses and pharmacists. Ted Sheppard, a former director of the medical center’s pharmacy, did not hesitate to step forward to help.
“I volunteered for the clinic to help in the fight against the COVID-19 virus. I feel that it is important to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible in order to end this pandemic that has taken so many lives and devastated our economy. It was a great opportunity to give a little bit back,” Sheppard said. “It was enjoyable to be working on a great cause, to meet new staff and to again see many of my former co-workers.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has and still continues to be a menace in our lives,” Gosner said. “However, there are many bright spots that deserve to be recognized during this difficult time.”
