Volunteering isn’t an act of giving, says Mary Anne Menke. It’s a blessing for the volunteer.
“Any volunteer work is wonderful and a privilege,” she says. “You get so much more than you give.”
Menke graduated from St. Elizabeth’s nursing school in 1952 and worked as a head nurse in the hospital in the late 1950s before resigning to raise seven children. Since then, she has spent decades putting her nursing skills to use as a volunteer for the hospital. During much of her tenure as a volunteer, Menke bathed home health and hospice patients, offering dignity and comfort during their most difficult hours.
“Medicine has advanced so much,” she says, “but there is no substitute for nursing care. If you have that ability to help someone feel a little better, that is an amazing thing.”
Today Menke, 87, offers emotional comfort as a volunteer with St. Elizabeth Hospice’s Bereavement Committee. She calls people who have lost loved ones to offer solace and make sure they know about the services and support groups available to them. She touches base with them after two months and again after six months.
“Most of the time people want to talk,” she says.
Listening to their stories ““ whatever they may have to say ““ “is an honor and a privilege,” she says.
Click here to learn more about volunteer opportunities with St. Elizabeth Healthcare.
