Middle Tennessee Medical Center held a luncheon at Stones River Country Club to honor the hospital’s volunteers as part of celebrating Volunteer Appreciation Month.
Approximately 80 people attended the 2012 Volunteer Appreciation and Award Ceremony which recognized the outstanding service volunteers provide to the hospital. Every day, volunteers unselfishly donate extensive hours to MTMC through many different types of service ranging from staffing front desks throughout the hospital and providing vital services at nurses’ stations to assisting with process improvement initiatives.
The Daughters of Charity Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor presented to a volunteer. This year, MTMC presented the award to Ruth Gilliam, who has volunteered more than 5,000 hours at the hospital. A volunteer since 2000, Gilliam spends most of her volunteer time presiding over coffee duties, delivering flowers and assisting with mailings and other needed tasks. Her husband, Bob Gilliam, is also a volunteer at MTMC and works in the Wellness Center.
L-R photo ID: MTMC Foundation's Jeff Lea; MTMC President and CEO Gordon Ferguson, along with Distinguished Service Award winner Ruth Giliam, Volunteer of Year recipient Carolyn Davenport, volunteer coordinator Anne Davis.
Carolyn Davenport received the 2012 Volunteer of the Year Award. Davenport was chosen by her peers for being a kind, loving person and always ready to help others. Since she joined MTMC as a volunteer in August 2008, she has volunteered more than 1,600 hours. Davenport works regularly in the gift shop and has helped greet guests at the Bariatric Center.
Judy Overall, the 2011 Daughter of Charity Award winner, was recognized as the volunteer with the most hours of service. Overall, she has volunteered more than 18,000 hours of service at MTMC.
"Each volunteer has a unique gift and they are vital in every aspect of our organization, including creating a warm, friendly environment,” said Anne Davis, MTMC Foundation senior development officer, who oversees the volunteer program. "Volunteers make a positive difference at MTMC. They are your friends and neighbors, who are here because they have a heart to help others. We are blessed to have both college age volunteers and more mature, retired or semi-retired participants."
More than 40 new volunteers were on board at MTMC in 2011, including a number of pre-med, pre-nursing and pre-pharmacy students from Middle Tennessee State University, Belmont University and Lipscomb University. Volunteers are placed in various departments at MTMC, including the Wellness Center, Dispensary of Hope, Cancer Center, Diabetes Center, Imaging, Bariatric Center, nursing units, emergency department, pastoral care, LEAN process improvement department and pharmacy and as shuttle drivers, mail and coffee deliverers and gift shop workers. In addition, many volunteers knit baby blankets, caps, bears and puppets for patients and several church groups participate with donations for the hospital critical care unit waiting room guests.
During the 2011 Fiscal Year, volunteers at MTMC gave 17,312 hours of service. According to a new report by the Independent Sector, the dollar value of an hour of volunteer time is estimated at $21.79. Based on the number of volunteer hours at MTMC for Fiscal Year 2011, those hours would be valued at more than $377,000.
To join the volunteer program at MTMC or obtain more information, visit www.MTMC.org/volunteer.php or contact Anne Davis at 615-396-4809 or anne.davis@mtmc.org.
About MTMC
Middle Tennessee Medical Center (MTMC) is a member of Saint Thomas Health, Middle Tennessee’s faith-based, not-for-profit health care system with more than 6,500 associates. Saint Thomas Health is focused on transforming the health care experience and helping people live healthier lives, with special attention to the poor and vulnerable. The regional health system includes – Baptist Hospital, Saint Thomas Hospital and The Hospital for Spinal Surgery in Nashville, Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro and Hickman Community Hospital in Centerville – and a comprehensive network of affiliated joint ventures, medical practices, clinics and rehabilitation facilities. Saint Thomas Health is a member of Ascension Health, the largest Catholic, not-for-profit health system in the United States. For more information, visit www.mtmc.org or www.sths.com.
