It’s Spring and everything is turning green, growing again, and renewing itself for a fresh Summer.
For Stroud Regional Medical Center, this Spring will be a time of renewal for a former program.
“We have not had a volunteer program in quite some time,” Stroud Re gional’s Health Educator/ Auxiliary Director Angie Guest VanDenbark said. “I can’t find anyone who remembers exactly when it started, but it’s been like before Covid, even, we have not had one. So, we want to start one back up.”
The volunteers will help Stroud Regional and their staff and patients and support the hospital’s mission in a variety of ways, Van-Denbark said.
“They’ll help, maybe, do any errands that nursing needs help with,” she said. “They’ll deliver flowers to patient rooms as those come and, you know, maybe they could spend time with the patients, maybe if they want to play a little game or have them read a little bit.”
Helping out at Stroud Regional allows volunteers a chance to make new friends after potentially being stuck inside due to social distancing.
“My mom is a volunteer at the hospital in Shawnee,” VanDenbark said. “She really loves being able to get out, and just, you know, do something other than normal just chores or whatever as a retiree, and she’s made really good friends that way.”
Volunteering is also a way to serve the community.
“I think that’s pretty rewarding and they get to serve their community which is really important, especially in our small, you know, we live in a rural county with a lot of little, small towns,” Van-Denbark said.
Stroud Regional is seeking volunteers from across the community, including neighboring towns such as Wellston and Chandler.
“We’re also starting up a volunteer Chaplain program, as well, because we have a small chapel here,” VanDenbark said, “and we do not employ a chaplain and that is a definite need that our patients have asked for, so we’re trying to get that up and going.”
Those interested in volunteering or seeking more information can contact Angie Guest VanDenbark by emailing volunteerSRMC@fpresources. net or calling 918-968-3571 ex. 3152.
“There’s an application that they’ll fill out, because they have to have a background check,” she said, “and then they’ll have to do a little bit of training, they’ll do some training you know on HIPAA, the HIPAA rules and just, you know, maintaining discretion.”
Other recruitment and training protocols will include an interview and learning infection control procedures.
“We don’t have any Covid patients here right now,” VanDenbark said, “but just, you know, sometimes people come in with other illnesses and so they’ll want to know if they need to not go in that room or if they need to wear a mask.”
VanDenbark said she wants volunteers to be able to do what they are interested in to help.
For those who are uncomfortable around medical concerns but still want to help, VanDenbark said, they will be able to find other ways of helping.
“If they feel more comfortable staying out of patient areas, we can work that out, because I just want them to be happy, being here,” she said. “I don’t want anyone to be uncomfortable.”
Restarting these volunteer programs is just one part of Stroud Regional’s efforts to safely open back up its visiting hours and outreach programs.
“We strongly believe in having options for just, you know, the general public, not just patients, but we want to have like health programs and GED programs and things like that,” VanDenbark said, “and that’s why I was hired is to kind of build those programs up, and then start being able to advertise around the county and get people to come to us for that.”
VanDenbark started at Stroud Regional in August 2020, but due to Covid-19 concerns has been limited in the scope of outreach projects that were possible.
The volunteering program at Stroud Regional is currently estimated to be able to start next month.