Cherry Hospital honors volunteers
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on April 19, 2005 1:46 PM
Cherry Hospital honored its volunteers at an appreciation luncheon Monday, paying special attention to two who went above and beyond the call of duty.
Dr. James Osberg, interim hospital director, praised the workers for following in the footsteps of other great volunteers, like Clara Barton, Dorothea Dix and President Jimmy Carter.
"You do so many different things when you volunteer," he said. "You inform, you support, you solicit ... you guide, you feed, you help."
He said Cherry Hospital's volunteers were among the 64.5 million people across the country who served their communities at least once during the year, according to Department of Labor statistics. Of those, he said, 4.8 million people gave their time at hospitals or health care organizations.
Osberg said Cherry Hospital had an average of 139 people volunteering each month during the past year. That translated to 15,645 hours of service, or $270,000 if employees had to be hired to perform the tasks.
Two volunteers were recognized for exemplary service in 2004.
Mary Frances Bailey received the Edythe O. Blanton volunteer service award. Since 1999, Mrs. Bailey has worked in the Special Services Department and the Woodard building, helping with parties and outings, taking patients to church services, and participating in many of the hospital's fundraising efforts.
Chosen as the Senior Companion of the Year was Chester Canady, also a volunteer since 1999.
"He's like our No. 1 key person," said Penny Withrow, volunteer services coordinator. "He's very dependable and responsible, a wonderful greeter and has made many fine contributions to the volunteer program."