Many Honored for Years of Dedicated Volunteer Service
The tables were filled with fresh bread and cheeses and the aroma of basil and pasta lingered throughout Marabella Restaurant in Bayside, NY.
Volunteers of St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children were invited to join a luncheon in their honor, at the Ramada Inn restaurant, as St. Mary’s senior staff celebrated the unwavering dedication and commitment volunteers show each day, whether they are helping to provide care to a child, assisting administrative staff, or coordinating events to help raise funds and awareness for the organization.
Volunteers like Bob, aka, “Otto the Clown,” who finds joy in entertaining patients with jokes and card tricks, or Lottie Lomangino who spends her time playing games, and reading books to patients, have each touched the lives of St. Mary’s kids in some way, and the significant part they play in helping to improve the lives of the children and young adults at St. Mary’s, has not gone unnoticed.
Edwin Simpser, MD, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Medical Officer, and Eileen Chisari, Senior Vice President, Administration and Organizational Development, commended all volunteers for the day to day combined efforts they display that enhances the quality of care St. Mary’s provides to nearly 4,000 children with special needs and their families throughout the New York Metropolitan area.
St. Mary’s volunteers have become part of the extended family of nurses, therapists, physicians, and staff at the Bayside hospital, and go above and beyond the call of duty.
“There’s just no place like St. Mary’s,” said Bob, who not only visits with patients and families during his time at the hospital, but can always be found stuffing envelopes, making copies, or handing out flyers.
St. Mary’s has become a second home for many volunteers, and everyone from the patients, families, and staff, deeply appreciates their dedication.
