High school students spend summer volunteering at Windham Hospital
Instead of playing computer games or hanging out in the pool or at the beach, 35 students from local high schools chose to spend their summer vacation volunteering at Windham Hospital. The students, ages 14-18, engaged in a number of tasks including escorting patients, providing reading materials for patients, transporting medical equipment, and assisting staff in different departments with a range of projects.
The Junior Volunteer program has been running at Windham Hospital for over 50 years. Initially, Junior Volunteers were called Candy Stripers because the core group members were girls and they wore red and white striped uniforms. Today, there are many young men who volunteer as well. The program provides the volunteers the chance to explore careers in healthcare, learn new skills, and make new friends. It also encourages them to volunteer in the community and “give back.”
Emma Wentworth, a student from Lyman Memorial High School in Lebanon, CT has been volunteering at Windham Hospital since May 2010. She is very involved in the community, volunteering at her local church and library and the American Cancer Society (Relay for Life). Emma says, “Interacting with patients is a great experience that has prompted me to consider pursuing a career in healthcare.” She says Windham Hospital is also a place where she has made a lot of new friends.
The Volunteer Program at Windham Hospital annually includes over 125 Adult volunteers and 60 Students from the University of Connecticut. Volunteers contribute their time and talents in many different areas such as the Information Desk Greeters, Sales Associates in the Coffee Shop and the Gift Shop, Patient and Family Liaisons, Transportation Aides or Clerical Assistants.
For more information about the Volunteer Program at Windham Hospital, please call 860.456.6792 or visit our Web site at www.windhamhospital.org.
Windham Hospital is a 130-bed acute care hospital serving thousands of people in northeastern Connecticut. For nearly 80 years Windham Hospital has been renowned for its outstanding physicians and extraordinary nursing care and today offers a unique combination of talent and technology in patient care as a member of Hartford HealthCare, Connecticut’s premier healthcare system. |