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BJC TODAY salutes those who take the time to give, making a difference in the lives of patients and

employees across BJC.

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” ~Aesop

Volunteersacross BJC

t Jeanette Jacoby is celebrating her silver anniversary working in the gift shop at Alton Memorial Hospital.

When her youngest son, Steve, graduated from high school in 1984, she knew then it was time to get to work. “After my boys got out of school, I was determined that I wasn’t going to just sit at home and do nothing,” she says. “I had worked with my mother in the old hospital gift shop, so that was something I really wanted to do.

“When I started here in 1984, we didn’t even have a cash register,” she says. “We started each day with $12 in change and went from there.”

Jacoby works most Tuesdays at the AMH gift shop, now called Miss Eunice’s Hatbox. She also served for a while on the White Cross Auxiliary Board until her husband, Alton dentist Dr. Robert Jacoby, became ill. He died in 1997.

“You get to meet a lot of people each day at the gift shop,” she says. “And I love to be with people.” | Photo by Dave Whaley

p Lois Dean Beyreis, or “Dean” as she’s known at the hospital, has served in many capacities within the Missouri Baptist Sullivan Hospital Auxiliary for more than 15 years, as well as being an employee of the hospital in various positions.

She started in the auxiliary by helping her mother, Elizabeth Simmerly, a longtime auxilian, with the distribution and mailing of the Auxiliary Newsletter, The Cherry Pink Informer. From that point on, she has been a part of the Auxiliary team by typing, copying and distributing the monthly newsletter. Beyreis also has been the president for two different terms and the purchasing representative for the Gift Shop. She currently serves in all three of those capacities.

As an employee, she started out as a computer operator in 1995 to then divide her time with being a cook in 2001. She transferred to admitting as a registrar in 2002, where she became the hospital phone operator until her “second” retirement as a paid employee in 2007. | Photo by David Hartwick

For more about BJC volunteers, see pages 12-14.

p Through the teen volunteer program at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, teens ages 14-18 can explore a career in health care while helping others, making new friends and adding community service to their college application. Throughout the nine-week program, teens can volunteer in a variety of hospital departments, including clinical areas, the gift shops and clerical positions. Teen volunteers, back row, Mary Dunbar, left, and Saadeah Nabawi, along with, front row, Brittney Grammar, right, spend time with a BJH post-anesthesia care unit staff member. | Courtesy photo

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Volunteersacross BJC

u Lisa Dahlgren, PhD, a licensed psychologist and BJC Hospice volunteer for six months, has been volunteering all of her adult life. She is a uniquely gifted volunteer in that she provides Reiki, which is a light-touch or hover-touch connection to a patient’s energy path, on or above the patient’s clothed body.

Dahlgren says Reiki works with an individual, rather than on an individual, to encourage pain and stress relief. She says Reiki benefits patients on all levels of their being and is easily integrated into all types of medicine.

“Patients have told me that they feel like they are deeply relaxed after the treatments,” Dahlgren says. “I feel glad to be helping patients and their families in such a personal way. Providing Reiki is truly a joy, and I deeply appreciate the opportunity to do so.”

“Our families love it, and it’s a nice alternative therapy that has been a wonderful asset to our services,” says Eileen Spinner, BJC Hospice volunteer services coordinator. | Courtesy photo

u When Mary Ann Lombardo retired nine years ago from the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, she had three goals: travel, volunteer and find a part-time job.

She was at the Christian Hospital’s “No Loafers” mall-walking program seven years ago, when she learned of volunteering opportunities at the hospital. The next thing she knew, she was sorting mail in the CH mailroom.

“I feel like I’m doing a real job when I come in here every Monday and Friday to sort the mail,” Lombardo says. “I find being around all the nice people here very rewarding, and I can keep up with what’s going on around the hospital.”

And she wasn’t kidding around when she said she was going to travel. Since retiring she has visited all 50 U.S. states, Germany, Italy, Greece (one of her favorites), Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Figi and, most recently, she took a South American cruise through the Panama Canal.

“I’ve been from Portland, Maine, to Portland, Oregon,” she says with a laugh. “And around the world a bit. If I had to live anywhere outside of the United States, it would be New Zealand. That was my favorite.” | Photo by Bret Berigan

t When Sister Ann Pace turned 70 and decided to retire from active full-time ministry, she wanted to volunteer to “rock babies” somewhere. She found that “somewhere,” beginning in September 2006, in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Here, she talks about the experience:

“I have always loved babies. The highlight of each week for me was the afternoon I went to the NICU and rocked the babies. After several months, I decided to go two afternoons a week.

One of my experiences was getting to know a particular baby very well. We’ll call her Jane to protect her identity. It seemed to me as if no one ever came to visit Jane, so almost every afternoon I was in the NICU, I would check to see if she was awake so I could hold her, rock her and love her. One day her new foster mother was there. I introduced myself, and she told me that Jane would be leaving the NICU the following Monday. I knew this meant that I would never see her again.

I asked the mother-to-be if I could hold Jane one last time, and she let me. Shortly after I had Jane in my arms, her new mom said she could tell that Jane knew me. I asked how she knew that. She told me that, while she was looking at the monitoring screen, Jane’s heart rate went down — indicating that she knew me and was comfortable with me. It was hard for me to give Jane back to her mom, but I did and went to hold another baby.

There are many other incidents that I could relate that tell me that the babies knew me. Maybe they could tell by my voice or by the way that I held them. I don’t really know. Whatever it was, they probably already knew that I wasn’t a medical person who would examine them, poke them with a needle, or do any of the other procedures that could be painful.

Holding these very sick babies is still the highlight of my week and is proving to be an experience I will always treasure. The babies won’t remember me, but somewhere in their subconsciousness they’ll know that someone was with them who loved them and rocked them to sleep.” | Photo by John Twombly

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“We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.” ~Winston Churchill

u Lisa Dahlgren, PhD, a licensed psychologist and BJC Hospice volunteer for six months, has been volunteering all of her adult life. She is a uniquely gifted volunteer in that she provides Reiki, which is a light-touch or hover-touch connection to a patient’s energy path, on or above the patient’s clothed body.

Dahlgren says Reiki works with an individual, rather than on an individual, to encourage pain and stress relief. She says Reiki benefits patients on all levels of their being and is easily integrated into all types of medicine.

“Patients have told me that they feel like they are deeply relaxed after the treatments,” Dahlgren says. “I feel glad to be helping patients and their families in such a personal way. Providing Reiki is truly a joy, and I deeply appreciate the opportunity to do so.”

“Our families love it, and it’s a nice alternative therapy that has been a wonderful asset to our services,” says Eileen Spinner, BJC Hospice volunteer services coordinator. | Courtesy photo

p The Parkland Health Center–Bonne Terre oncology/hematology clinic has 10 volunteers who help patients and staff Monday-Wednesday each week. Another four substitute volunteers fill in when they’re needed. Becky O’Neill has been a volunteer at PHC-Bonne Terre for 17 years and in oncology for three years. “I started volunteering here because my husband had been a patient and I was so impressed with everyone,” she says. “I just wanted to help.” | Photo by Bob Schmitz

t Gisela Cerdán Jiménez graduated from nursing school in Peru in 2001. For a year, she chose to do a volunteer job in a small medical center of “Caritas del Peru,” providing medical care to people with no money or insurance. For three years after that, she worked in emergency services at a private hospital in Lima and, for two years, was involved in teaching nursing students during their clinical rotations.

Jiménez got married in 2007 and came to the United States with her husband, who is a neurology resident at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “My goal has always been to work as a nurse in this country,” she says. “And, to accomplish this objective, I have been taking English classes and studying to take the three exams I need to pass before getting certified.

“I decided to be a volunteer in a hospital because I missed being in a health care setting. Every time I heard an ambulance in the street, I thought of the days when I was working in the emergency room and I wished I was there, taking care of patients,” she says. Jiménez says she chose to volunteer at Missouri Baptist Medical Center after having a good experience as a patient there. | Photo by Elizabeth White

t Delivering meals for Meals on Wheels for Special Diets prepared in the Parkland Health Center-Farmington cafeteria is one of many ways volunteers from the hospital provide a service to their community. Thirty-five drivers pick up lunches every day Monday-Friday for members of the community who have special dietary needs. The Monday volunteer drivers are made up of retirees, married couples, friends and individuals who enjoy visiting with those who receive meals. From left are the Rev. Bill Allen and his wife, Pat, who have been volunteering for more than 20 years; Sai Iyer, who also volunteers two days a week at the hospital front desk and another day for Meals on Wheels through the Farmington Senior Center; Anna and Ken Webber, who like to make the days brighter for those they deliver meals to each week; and friends Marilyn Currington and Marilee Waller, who get a chance to visit with one another while helping others. Not pictured, Tom Hermann. | Photo by Bob Schmitz

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p These days, it’s not uncommon for the focus to be on the bottom line. Benchmarks, metrics, statistics … everyone wants to know what the numbers say.

For Mike Jablonski, a volunteer at The Plaza Shop on the south campus of Barnes-Jewish Hospital, the numbers are secondary. First and foremost are the customers. Jablonski is responsible for filling soda coolers to make sure drinks are always cold for patients, families, visitors and employees. He also keeps the chip racks full and transports flowers to the Gift Gallery on north campus.

It’s not that Jablonski doesn’t have the numbers to back him up. Since he began volunteering in August 2005, Jablonski has logged 3,300 hours volunteering in the gift shop. Last year, he was one of only four volunteers who reached the 1,000-hours range by volunteering 916 hours.

What’s important to Jablonski is having fun and staying busy. Susan Treece, manager of The Plaza Shop, refers to Jablonski as a treasure. “Mike is so helpful to our staff and customers that on days he’s unable to come in, we truly feel a valued team member is missing,” Treece says.

Cindy Fishman, BJH volunteer services manager, agrees. “Mike has a wonderful sense of humor and I understand he does a great job.”

In November 2004, Jablonski had a cerebral hemorrhage and was brought to BJH. After a week in the ICU, he spent two months at The Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis. When he and his wife, Claire, knew he wouldn’t be able to go back to work in the elevator maintenance industry, they thought a volunteer position might be possible. “We both knew that Mike needed to keep busy and active, so we checked into the possibility of helping here at the hospital,” says Claire Jablonski.

When Jablonski first started volunteering, his speech was extremely limited. Gradually, it returned. Almost five years later, Jablonski is still keeping busy three days a week at the gift shop, chatting with employees, patients and families. Topping the conversation are stories about his sons, Chris and Drew.

The bottom line, according to Treece, is that Mike Jablonski is a blessing to The Plaza Shop.| Photo by Jamie Gagliarducci

t Jessica Giacchi, 62, is a retired nurse and veteran who volunteers in the Boone Hospital Center gift shop. “I’ve worked in hospitals since I was in high school, so I’ve always been drawn to them,” she says. “As a volunteer, I’m still giving and caring.”

Giacchi has had a lifetime of giving and caring. In addition to once working as a nurse at BHC, she has worked for other hospitals and for the Red Cross. “I like the atmosphere and the people at Boone. Everybody knows that, on Tuesday afternoons, this is where they’ll find me. And the group I work with is like one big extended family. I’m a happy camper.” | Photo by Steve Adams

p When Rosemary Scott started volunteering at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital in 1980, the hospital had just opened its doors as St. Peters Community Hospital. Since then, she has given 27 years of service to BJSPH. “In the early years, the hospital was so small and many of the departments needed help,” she says. “I’ve worked in just about every department in the hospital, including the gift shop, where it all started for me.”

Scott loves volunteering at BJSPH — so much so that she encouraged her husband of 56 years, John, to volunteer at the hospital after he retired seven years ago. Together, they spend 10-12 hours each week, stuffing envelopes, greeting visitors, working in the gift shop, filing patient medical records or performing a host of other duties.

And when they’re not volunteering for the hospital, they give their time to their church, a local city government or individuals in need of help in the community. “We’ve been around so long, all of our friends have passed away. But through volunteering at the hospital and in our community, we’ve been able to make new friends,” John Scott says.

Rosemary Scott shared her philosophy about volunteering, saying, “As long as I remain healthy, my job as a volunteer is endless. The rewards I get from volunteering help to keep me young. I believe it is only in giving that you receive.” | Photo by Travis Lee

“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.”

~Elizabeth Andrew

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CUFFIn recognition of National Volunteer Week, BJC TODAY asks:“Why do you volunteer?”

“I retired two years ago from AT&T and I wanted to give back to the community in some way. I also teach an exercise class for BJC OASIS.”

— Stella Keen, Parkland Health Center-Bonne

Terre Auxiliary gift shop volunteer

“I started volunteering at my hometown hospital in 1989. I volunteer because I want to give back and I always wanted to be a nurse — but in those days you had to go to work and

take care of your family, so I didn’t have the opportunity.

— Elizabeth White, Barnes-Jewish Hospital guest and

patient relations volunteer

“I volunteer to get out and I realized there was a need. This is a wonderful place to volunteer with a pleasant atmosphere.”

— Pauline Davis, Parkland Health

Center-Farmington Auxiliary gift shop volunteer

“I volunteer because it makes me feel good. To pass someone who you can sense is at a difficult point in their life and to make them feel better with a smile and hello is very

rewarding. I’ve had a good life and I want to give back. I dearly love Christian Hospital and have been active here for many years to help keep this hospital a viable part of North County.”

— Carol Horning, Christian Hospital communications

and marketing volunteer

Doing what’s right for kidsby Victoria Mahl

n The mission of Children’s Hospital is “to do what is right for children.” Children’s Hospital is a place where the lives of children are in safe and caring hands.

In addition to medical services, the hospital provides family services as well. The three main services are for the child, the families and the community. As far as the patients themselves, the hospital does everything in its power to make the children and their families comfortable. For example, staff and volunteers help meet the needs of the families, such as coping with emotions they may be experiencing. Also, the hospital provides pre-admission tours, sponsors camps, and the hospital has guidelines for donations, visits and entertainment.

In order for the hospital to keep the atmosphere of care and aid, they need a lot of help. This is where the volunteers step in. The requirements for volunteering are fairly simple. One must be at least 16 years of age, commit to a minimum of 50 hours of service and go through an application process. After the application is complete, there is an orientation that must be attended where tours will be given, as well as a presentation on how to make patients feel comfortable and safe.

It is very beneficial to be a volunteer at Children’s Hospital. Volunteers get one-on-one time with the patients, and are helpful in supporting the staff, patients and families. Volunteers play with the kids in the playroom, get a patient a movie, help families navigate through the hospital and deliver mail. Because all of these tasks are very helpful and comforting to the patients and their families, most volunteers stay longer than the recommended amount of time. Volunteering is a good way to help others and make a difference, and there is nothing better than making a child smile.

There is no place that helps a sick child like St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Ranked fifth in the nation and leading in allergy and pulmonary services, Children’s Hospital puts the utmost care into each individual patient by creating a comfortable and safe environment. Help make a difference in a child’s life; volunteer in order to help families and patients feel better. n

Making a little girl’s dayby Erin Anderson

n A little girl has been in the hospital for three weeks. She has been stuck in her room with only daytime soaps and talk shows. Her mother knows her daughter is lonely and is longing to be outside on her non-stop-base-running-goal-scoring feet. The next thing the little girl knows, a teenage girl walks in the room, introduces herself as a volunteer of the hospital, and tells the patient she would love to take her to the playroom or outside to the Olson Family Garden. The volunteer realizes she just made the little girl’s day and cannot wait to see her again.

This is just one way that volunteers touch the lives of children. It is where a volunteer can prepare to become an adult while helping the patients feel like kids again at the fifth ranked children’s hospital in the country, St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The hospital’s mission is to “do what’s right for children.” Volunteers help achieve the mission by giving their all to the children and making sure the children are happy and learning how to push through the struggles.

At St. Louis Children’s Hospital, volunteers work with kids in various ways. Volunteers interact with the patients one-on-one. Whether through games, reading books, arts and crafts, or just being someone to talk to, a volunteer is there to serve the patients in any way. The main reason volunteers are there is for the children, and that should always be enough.

Many people are affected by the work the volunteers provide. When volunteers visit patients, the patients get a break from being the children with illnesses and get to show their true personality and lives. The patients get to feel like what they truly

are, kids! Although they might not be doing it for themselves, volunteers are also affecting their own lives. They are learning what they want to become. This might not mean a doctor or nurse necessarily, but also a teacher, anyone else who works with children, or someone who helps the lives of others in many different ways.

Volunteers help children push through illnesses every day. They do their best to prepare the patients for when they get back on their feet and out the door. The volunteers begin to prepare for their own future, while making children in St. Louis Children’s Hospital feel like kids again. n

Touching lives every dayby Abbey Gebhardt

n It is truly amazing how many lives St. Louis Children’s Hospital touches every day. First of all, the patients are as comfortable as they can be, considering the fact they are at a hospital. They know that people are there for them, care for them, and truly want them to get better. In addition, by having volunteers at the hospital, the patients have someone, usually close to their age, to talk to them and listen to them. While they are there, they know they are receiving the best treatment and hospital service for their illness, and it is all in a very welcoming and hospitable environment. The parents also are greatly affected by the traumatic experience of having their child injured or seriously ill in a hospital. However, St. Louis Children’s Hospital’s staff and volunteers make the experience as comfortable and as helpful as possible. In addition, the parents bring their ill children to Children’s Hospital knowing that the hospital will do everything in its power to treat and help their child.

Many forget how the volunteers are also greatly affected by their time spent volunteering at Children’s. The volunteers have the privilege of helping make the stay of the parents and children at Children’s Hospital more enjoyable and providing a distraction and a chance for normalcy to the child. As a result, volunteers leave St. Louis Children’s Hospital knowing that they made a difference in the life of a child, a parent or even both. In addition, volunteers receive the experience of working in a hospital, which could be helpful for future careers or in deciding if going into the medical field or working in a hospital would be a good job for them.

Children’s allows volunteers to give their time and to interact with patients and parents. The hospital gives the volunteers the opportunity to listen and talk to the patients and parents and to be open arms for them. St. Louis Children’s Hospital is a place where love, comfort, and the utmost care are given to children and where patients, parents, and volunteers can be truly touched and changed by their experience. n

Student volunteers share their thoughts about giving back

From left, Victoria Mahl, Erin Anderson and Abbey Gebhardt are high school students at Incarnate Word Academy who are volunteering as part of St. Louis Children’s Hospital’s Student Service Project program. They were asked to write an essay about their experience as part of the program. Following are excerpts from their essays. | Courtesy photo