Many volunteers, including members of the Conway Regional Health System staff, found their work with iguana SQUAD a life-changing experience.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is big on volunteerism and proudly points to the work its nurses are doing throughout the community.

Pat Torvestad, vice chancellor for communications and marketing and former co-chair of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, says UAMS is a race sponsor and about 1,500 employees sign up to participate each year.

“Nurses take cancer very seriously. We see patients every day and they are so brave and positive. This is our tribute to their struggle and support,” she says. “Nurses give all day and then turn around and give again.”

Marcie Cole, RN, Conway Regional Health System Gynecology Unit, found volunteering her time was a life-changing experience. She, along with several other members of the hospital’s staff and local medical community, flew to Succotz, Belize with The iguana SQUAD, a non-profit humanitarian organization. After raising the money to pay for their own airfare, volunteers work long days to help the town’s poor population with their construction, medical or dental needs.

“At the four-day clinic, we saw over 1,000 patients who needed a wide array of attention,” Cole says.

Cole’s daughter Chelsea, a pre-biology student at the University of Central Arkansas, volunteered not only her time, but 23 pounds of badly-needed clothes.  She plans to go again next June.

While Cole is working in another country, Rhonda Dixon volunteers her time a little closer to home. Dixon, a same-day surgery registered nurse at Conway Regional Health System, serves on the board of the Conway Interfaith Clinic.

“It’s my passion,” she says. 

The clinic isn’t free, but their prices are affordable and make doctor’s visits possible for Faulkner County’s uninsured.

They see as many as 300 patients a month on the medical side of the clinic and nearly that many on the dental side.

To help pay the bills, the clinic has held two fundraisers including a family bike tour event and a golf tournament. 

In addition to her role as board fundraiser, Dixon teaches nursing two days a week at the University of Central Arkansas and is a part-time school nurse.

 “You can work a lot and still volunteer,” she says.

Siloam Springs Memorial Hospital chief nursing officer Cindy Kugel says her nurses also volunteer in a number ways, including participating in community programs like the Heart Walk and Brown Bag Luncheons. They also volunteer for mass vaccination efforts and a number of public education events.

Extending a hand
For Cheryl K. Schmidt, Ph.D., a certified nurse educator, it’s about paying it forward.

Early in her life, her mother and sisters, all nurses, were a positive influence. 

“They were always ready to extend a hand,” she remembers.

Nurses, in general, are the first to raise their hands when there’s a job to do. 

“You do it because it’s needed,” says Schmidt, who has been an American Red Cross nurse since 1974. She has served as Arkansas state nurse liaison to the American Red Cross and developed an accelerated disaster training model to prepare nursing students to respond to disasters.

She routinely volunteers for mass vaccination clinics, military kids camp, health fairs, school screenings and has won numerous awards for her work.

But Schmidt says her volunteer work isn’t all that unusual. 

“Health care workers, in general, have that volunteer spirit,” she says. 

That’s what drives Deborah Spadoni.  

By day, Spadoni, R.N, B.S.N., C.C.RN., is a critical care nurse in E4 Intensive Care, but in her spare time, she helped organize “The Power of IC You!”

Approximately 100 nurses are putting their time and know-how together to volunteer for this cleverly-named program.

“One person can’t do too much, but as a group, we can make a difference,” Spadoni says. Nurses often work long hours and have families, but like so many others, they want to work to make their community a better place to live.

“By working together as a cohesive team, we raised $500 for the Arkansas Foodbank Network and collected 206 boxes of cereal for this summer’s THV Summer Cereal Drive,” she says. 

The group plans to make a donation to the Arkansas Foodbank Network next Christmas as well.   

“It teaches us to be more giving,” Spadoni says.

Sharing the load
Not all the work is done by the nurses alone. In many instances, such as at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) in Little Rock, the entire medical facility is working to improve the quality of life in central Arkansas.

After raising the money to pay for their own airfare, iguana SQUAD volunteers sleep in dormitories and work long days in a medical or dental clinic.

This is done at no cost to the child’s family, says Hilary DeMillo, with the hospital’s public relations department.

Arkansas’s Ronald McDonald Care Mobile is among 36 such trucks in the world. An initial grant from Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) helped with start-up expenses. Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Delta Dental of Arkansas sponsor a percentage of all remaining and future costs of the program. 

“Approximately 1,000 children will receive treatment in the care mobile each year,” DeMillo says.

Also, ACH recently started a new “wayfinding” program, which helps families navigate the growing campus.  A small thing to be sure, but for families who are already stressed and may be unfamiliar with ACH’s grandeur, it’s a blessing.

Families will find better signage when they arrive on campus than ever before. Each patient parking lot is labeled with a large crayon statue. 

“So, it’s easy to say, ‘Park in the purple crayon lot,’” DeMillo says. 

Buildings are designated with massive Lego-like structures that have their names on them, large maps located outside buildings and elevators tell patients and their families where to go. 

“This is making it much easier to find your way around ACH,” she says.

As part of the wayfinding program, a large “Arkansas Children’s Hospital” sign was recently added to the side of the building that faces I-630. The sign is flanked by large lighted building block sculptures that hang on the side of the building.

“It’s a very easy way for families coming to us from outside Little Rock to know when they’ve arrived,” she says.

Sometimes reaching out to the community through its professionals has a ripple effect that can’t be measured. Last spring, Baxter Regional Medical Center hosted a workshop entitled, “When Stroke Strikes…Act FAST. Dr. Pat Black of BRMC and Rick Washam, health educator at the UAMS/Center for Distance Health, presented vital information on strokes including signs and symptoms and why it’s so important to respond quickly.

It’s impossible to know the number of lives that will be saved because of free training programs like this. 

Switching jobs
Eleven years ago, Alesa Garner received the terrible news that she was in the very early stages of breast cancer. One of her first stops was the New Outlook Cancer Recovery Program at St. Vincent hospital.  Garner, who works at St. Vincent, was so impressed with their services she later decided to transfer from the microbiology department at the hospital to New Outlook.

“New Outlook is housed in the oncology department at St. Vincent, but our services reach the entire state of Arkansas,” she says.  

It doesn’t cost the patient anything – whether they’re getting treatment at St. Vincent’s or not.

“We offer custom ordered wigs, scarves, makeovers, counseling, support groups, mastectomy fittings, lymphedema treatment, stress management classes, education and more,” Garner says.

Many of the hospital’s nurses volunteer their time at New Outlook.

“Each one of our nurses is a part of this program,” she says.  “All of them can offer each patient and family the entire realm of services,” she says.

While this was always personal for Garner, it has become more so in the last few years as her sister and husband both have battled cancer.

“It’s a great service, and there’s not another one like it in the state.”

An Iguana SQUAD medical clinic volunteer helps with the hundreds of people seen over a four-day

The goal of the Volunteens program was to expose young adults to health careers and to promote the philosophy of volunteerism. The teenagers worked with hospital staff at all levels.

It’s a great opportunity for teenagers to get a realistic look at hospital life, says Michelle Bishop, RN, MSN, WRMC nurse director and magnet coordinator.

Their duties included visiting patients, making deliveries throughout the hospital and working in the gift shop, information desk and the admissions department. 

“They really made the patients and their families feel more comfortable,” Bishop says.

But WRMC isn’t the only hospital to cultivate a culture of volunteerism. 

As a not-for-profit organization, Jefferson Regional Medical Center at Pine Bluff invests heavily in the community and places a significant emphasis on volunteering.

JRMC nurses are involved in hundreds of charitable activities each year, in both personal and professional capacities. Nurses work at health fairs, volunteer with churches and serve community organizations as board and committee members. Over the last year, JRMC nurses have contributed more than 10,000 volunteer hours throughout Southeast Arkansas.