The gift of love
HE was a man, a special man, a husband and a father but life had dealt him a harsh blow.
Unable to drive, he relied on volunteers to take him from home to his radiotherapy treatment.
The “Spanish dancer”, the cancer, had spread, now it was everywhere. Despite the reality of his imminent departure from the world, he remained eternally optimistic and thankful for the support of those around him.
He thanked and joked with the good people, who gave themselves to help him and his family.
Having lost almost 30kg, he was only a shadow of the man I knew, but his love, compassion and zest for life remained.
He had been a volunteer, helping others in their time of need, now was his time, now he received the gift of giving.
He was a man, a wonderful man, he was my father.
For more than 50 years, volunteers have supported the vital work of Barwon Health.
In Geelong, the spirit of giving is alive and well, we have the dedication of our large volunteer base who give the greatest gift of all, their time and compassion, to helping others, like my father, in their time of need.
Volunteers bring something special to Barwon Health. They bring many different views, knowledge and experiences, however, they all have one thing in common: a willingness to give and help others.
People choose to volunteer because they want to give something back to the community or to make a difference, and they do, they made a difference to my father.
Volunteering with a health service is, however, not a simple matter, they need to undergo police and working with children checks, like any other employee as well as be developed and professionalised.
At Barwon Health, our volunteers receive more than 40 training and development sessions throughout the year, designed to enhance their ability to improve the health and wellness of those they touch.
Volunteers support the continuum of care. From greeting patients and visitors at the entrance, transporting patients to and from medical appointments, providing companionship at the bedside, easing the anxiety of patients pre and post-surgery or capturing the life stories of those nearing the end of life, our volunteers are such an integral part of the healthcare team at Barwon Health and we couldn’t do what we do without their generous support.
Our volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds and age groups. Although the average age of our volunteers sits within the 40s, one of our volunteers recently turned 100 and still attends our McKellar Centre to provide companionship and entertainment to our aged care residents.
Last year our volunteers provided more than 15,000 transport trips for patients. Also 62,972 people were assisted by our visitor information teams.
Through our Dignity Therapy and Life Stories program, more than 74 palliative care patients had special life moments captured and presented to their families.
Close to 400 medical documents were reviewed by our consumer representatives to ensure they were wri tten in simple English.
More than 497 calls were made by volunteers to offer support to bereaved carers and aged care residents were taken on 2650 outings.
Volunteers may never know the profound impact they have on a patient: A kind word, a gentle touch or a listening ear can mean so much to someone who is sick, in pain, is afraid or lonely.
They will, however, know that the more they give, the happier and healthier they feel.
In fact, during later life, volunteering is even more beneficial for one’s health than exercising and eating well.
Why this is so is not well understood, but a key factor is assumed to be that volunteering serves to express and facilitate opportunities to carry out one’s sense of purpose.
Many have written about this, a poem called Life without Purpose comes to mind: “. . . but pray for a purpose to make life worth living, and pray for the joy of unselfish giving.
For great is your gladness and rich your reward, when you make your life’s purpose the choice of the Lord.” Professor Ruth Salom is Barwon Health chief executive.