June 21, 2002

An average of 1,200 individuals choose the MGH as a place to volunteer. In 2001, those volunteers contributed an impressive 184,336 hours of service.

A bright spring day with a warm breeze provided a pleasant setting for employees, hospital leadership, trustees, family and friends as they gathered to recognize these vital members of the MGH community. The annual MGH Volunteer Recognition Day award ceremony was held June 11 under the Bulfinch Tent.

"Volunteers make the experience of patients more comfortable, the hours for waiting family members easier and the juggling of multiple tasks by very busy staff members possible," said Patricia Rowell, director of MGH Volunteer, Interpreter and Ambassador Services.

The celebration honored individual volunteers who have proved to be an invaluable asset to the MGH community. Special awards included the Jessie Harding Award for Outstanding Volunteers. That honor was given to Peter Lawless, who has been a volunteer in the Emergency Department since 1995. The Trustees' Award for Outstanding Support of the Volunteer Program went to the staffs of two departments: the Chemotherapy Infusion Unit on Bigelow 12 and the Radiology Unit in the Emergency Department. A special recognition award was presented to Nancy Carroll, Anne Lee Doig and Rose McCabe, three friends who began volunteering in March 2001 and have achieved a combined total of 622 hours of service.

"With a warm smile, friendly approach to patients, visitors and staff alike, each of these women has made an impact at the MGH," said Rowell.

Volunteers pose with Lawrence and Mongan, far right.

James J. Mongan, MD, president of the MGH, and Edward P. Lawrence, chairman of the MGH Board of Trustees, helped Rowell present the awards to the recipients."The work that you do is incredibly important, not just in terms of dollars and cents, but in terms of the extras you provide in compassion and charity," said Mongan.

Service awards also were presented to: John Belknap, Peggy Cotton, Nancy Fraser, Cathy Kwesell, Sharon Murphy, Pritee Poddar, James Scott, Nathan Turner, Carlos Villafuerta and Wilfred Wong.

A dinner and award ceremony was held June 20, in recognition of evening and weekend volunteers. These service award recipients included: Nora Burke, Susan Cheah, Maura Dowling, Eleanor Maciolek, Lisa Plotnick, Margo Quinlan, Eileen Sullivan and Lata Venkatarangan.