For Porter Regional Hospital volunteer Rosemary Hancock, “Every day is a new experience.” It is hard for her to choose one favorite memory amongst the many the hospital has given her.
Rosemary and her husband go to Porter Regional a few days a week to volunteer together. It was an idea she had six years ago and is still going strong today. They do not often work in the same place at the same time since they are assigned to a variety of departments. Rosemary is most often found helping out on the Diagnostic Imaging floor or delivering medical equipment. Sometimes she goes room to room visiting patients and seeing if they would like a visit from the hospital’s Chaplain.
“I like the satisfaction it gives you,” said Rosemary of her time at the hospital. She and her husband are retired from their careers so volunteering gets all their professional attention.
They picked a great place to do it. Rosemary says she admires not just the way Porter Memorial influences the community but the actual architecture of the hospital.
“To me, the building and the area itself are lovely. It’s a beautiful, beautiful structure. And [the hospital] gives security to the community, knowing they have it so close.”
Porter Regional Hospital consists of volunteers who spend hours out of their week assisting staff and patients with care and any aid they or needs they require. To be a volunteer requires patience, a caring nature and a love for helping other people, something that Rosemary carries with her each time she volunteers. Her warm smile and kind spirit are felt not only through patients but through the staff as well.
While hospitals can often be looked at as a scary, sterile place, it's through volunteers like Rosemary that human nature, safety and comfort can return and bring that valuable piece of mind that so many yearn for during stressful times.
Rosemary and her husband moved to the area 24 years ago. They came from the bustle in Chicago with the hopes of settling in a nicer community. They found their home in Westville where they spend their days relaxing and enjoying each other's company when they are not volunteering.
“It’s a small town,” she explained. “It’s a very nice, quiet neighborhood,” Rosemary says.