A Message from The Friends of the Hospital

We don’t have to change our lifestyle to help others, but helping can change our life.

At the HGH we are called “The Friends”. Our main goal is to promote and improve the quality of life of the patients.

Our mandate is to provide additional assistance for services and programs offered by the hospital and to complement the care and services provided by the employees by adding our special touch. When a volunteer comes to the hospital for a half-day of work, he/she goes to the sector previously selected by his/her interest.

It’s really pleasant to volunteer at the HGH. We make good friends within the group of volunteers and it’s quite nice to see each other every week. Smiles, camaraderie and the many personalities encountered throughout the days make the work a breeze.

Volunteers work in many services that are directly serving the patients, the Patient Care Services, the Palliative Care Services and the Pastoral Care. Volunteers in Patient Care Services pass fresh water, sit with patients, talk to them, help with their meals those who can’t eat by themselves, take some outside for a stroll or a smoke. The work shifts are done in half days, a shift in the morning, another in the afternoon.

In Pastoral Care, volunteers distribute the communion and look after spiritual needs.

Three volunteers per day work in Palliative Care. They accompany patients for whom there is no hope of recovery and they bring much needed support to the bereaved families.

Our volunteers also work in other departments not directly linked with the patients, like the Gift Shop, administrative services, the linen department and the executive of the Friends. There are often photocopies to make, documents to assemble, bed sheets and blankets or other pieces to sew, customers to serve at the Gift Shop and numerous other services to render. The aroma of the good coffee sold at the Gift Shop is sure to draw many patients who are mobile, visitors and personnel of the hospital.

During the summer months, after school during the year and also during weekends, teens from the high schools of the area contribute their time and energy by joining the student-volunteer program. The St-John’s Ambulance Dog Therapy Program is a new service offered to the hospital clientèle by volunteers who visit with their dogs who have previously been certified.

I take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers who fulfil the hospital life of the HGH family.

Diane Carrière
The Friends of the Hospital