Some people choose to retire to their homes after years spent in the workplace.  Some shop, travel, read, sleep and some choose other careers.  At North Fulton Regional Hospital, many choose to volunteer.

     Included in the 23-year legacy that is North Fulton Regional Hospital is the Volunteer Services division, an independent organization in and of itself that is comprised of many career volunteers.  Among this group of helpful men and women are three ladies, each unique in that they have been volunteering at North Fulton since its opening in November of 1983.  Meryl Shlossman, Daisy Austin and Arnelle Adams continue to serve the community with 23 years of service and experience behind them.

     “As soon as this hospital was built, I said ‘that’s where I want to be,’” said Shlossman, President of Volunteer Services.  “I could have gone back to work, but this seemed like the better fit for me.  I go home and feel like I really made a difference.”

     The difference is evident with volunteers serving in almost every area of the hospital.  From Emergency/Trauma, Reception, Women’s Health and Rehabilitation to Materials Management, Surgical Waiting, Surgery, Critical Care and Transportation, the volunteers contribute each day to North Fulton’s high standard of care.

     One area where the volunteers shine is the Mimosa Gift Shop, a store completely managed and operated by Volunteer Services.  Approximately 22 of the 175 volunteers work exclusively in the shop, handling every aspect of business from purchasing goods, to pricing them, to organizing displays to book keeping.

     The success of the shop can be traced to the camaraderie among the volunteers.

     “We help each other out.  If someone asks someone else to cover a shift, they’re not expected to pick up another.  Payback isn’t expected,” said Shlossman.  Although serving in her fourth term as president, Shlossman continues to give her time as the chairman of the Gift Shop, something she’s been doing almost as long as she has been a volunteer.  In the 23 years that it has been open, Shlossman can remember only one or two times where it has had to close due to no coverage.

     Daisy Austin, another 23-year volunteer, also works in the Gift Shop.  Prior to joining North Fulton Regional, Austin worked in the credit and customer service industry at General Electric and J.C. Penney department store.  She retired and found herself led to a life of volunteering.

     “If you just retire and sit at home, it wouldn’t be much of a life, now would it?”  Austin said.  “I enjoy having something meaningful to do.”  Austin finds meaning in the Mimosa Gift Shop where she says she has “favorite customers” that stop in on a regular basis.

     Meryl Shlossman also sees the shop as a way to reach out to people.  “Some people come in to the Gift Shop because they have nothing else to do but wait.  We’re here for those people.”  And they are ‘here.’  Even on Christmas Day, Shlossman opened the shop for those having to spend the holiday at the hospital.

     Sometimes the volunteers can be even more helpful than they think.  One Christmas day a new father entered the shop asking for advice on what to name his new baby girl.  In the spirit of the season, Shlossman jokingly replied ‘Faith, Hope or Charity.’  The gentleman returned later that day and reported that he and his wife chose Charity for their daughter’s name.

     The loving spirit of volunteerism exits not only in the gift shop, but in all other areas of the hospital as well.  Arnelle Adams visits patients in both medical and surgical units, something she’s enjoyed the 23 years she’s spent at North Fulton Regional.

     “The elderly don’t have many visitors.  I love to talk to them, sit with them and make them feel loved.”  She works diligently to ensure the patients have whatever they need, one time even making a trip to the drugstore to pick up a man’s hearing aid battery.  “It’s very rewarding to know you’ve helped someone and made life a little easier for someone else.” 

     Adams gives her time on weekends and spends her weekdays working as an administrative assistant in Cumming, proof that volunteering is not limited to those without jobs.  In fact, many of the volunteers at North Fulton Regional Hospital maintain both a full-time career and a volunteer schedule.

     “To work with people whose main goal is to give with their hearts and not ask for anything back is priceless,” said Lisa Delamater, Director of Volunteer Services.  A former Senior Executive Assistant at InterContinental Hotels Group, Delamater new she had to have this job after interviewing with Meryl Shlossman and Shirley Thomas, another Volunteer Executive Board member.  “I admire each and every one of them [volunteers] for providing their own time, care and support to this hospital. They are very passionate about what they do, and take their roles very seriously.”

     The passion is evident.  At any given time of the day, it is difficult to walk through the halls of North Fulton Regional Hospital without coming across the pink or blue jackets of a smiling-faced volunteer.  This is not likely to change any time soon, and Arnelle Adams hopes to continue her work for years to come.

     “When I was younger my kids would push me to do things.  Now this I just do because I want to . . . just for me.”

     North Fulton Regional Hospital (NFRH), part of Tenet Georgia, is a 167-bed, acute-care hospital located on Highway 9, Alpharetta Highway, in Roswell.  Opened in 1983, NFRH serves North Fulton and surrounding counties through its team of over 1000 employees, 450 staff physicians and 250 volunteers.  NFRH is a state-designated Level II trauma center and provides a continuum of services through its centers and programs, including neurosciences, orthopedics, rehabilitation, surgical services, bariatric surgical weight loss, gastroenterology and oncology.  The hospital is fully accredited and also is certified as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency.

     To learn more about Volunteer Services or how to become a volunteer at North Fulton Regional Hospital, please call Lisa Delamater at 770-751-2602 or visit www.northfultonregional.com/volunteer.