AHVRP Highlights

• 2012 AHVRP Annual Conference
  Omni Dallas Hotel
  Dallas, TX
  Dates: Sept. 19 - 22, 2012

COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAM
Circle of Caring
Berger Health System, Circleville, OH

Organized in 1997, Circle of Caring is an Interfaith Volunteer Caregiver program that assists the frail, elderly and people living with disabilities. Initially funded through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the program is supported and funded by the Pickaway County communities. Typical volunteer assistance includes: housekeeping, yard work, transportation, meal preparation, handyman chores, friendly phoning and visiting, and respite care.

Volunteer activities also have included constructing a unique, customized mailbox for an elderly couple, building a new ramp for a double amputee, providing meals for a patient, and offering friendship to isolated individuals. The men and women volunteers range in age from their late 20s to recent retirees, and say that the program allows them to spread a feeling of warmth and enrichment that no amount of money could convey.

Runner-up: Home Away From Home - Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital, Hastings, NE - a community-based project that has become an inspiration for people who see a need, want to help, and create a solution. The theme, "Many Bricks to Build a House: Many Hearts to Build a Home," embodies the feelings of all volunteers involved.

IN-SERVICE HOSPITAL VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
CARES Child and Family Program
Los Angeles/University of Southern California Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

Since 1971, the CARES Child and Family Program has provided quality child care and development services to children ages birth to 14 years old. The purpose is not only to provide a service to children of patients, visitors and Medical Center employees, but also a good start in the formative years of childhood that gives children a lasting foundation for success throughout their lives.

The Program provides a safe environment for children; supports parents in a partnership to enhance personal growth; and assists entire families with social services, health services and parenting education.

Runner Up: Elder Life Program - Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT. - the program, started in 1995, is designed to maintain the well-being, independence and functioning of older people who are hospitalized.

FUND-RAISING PROGRAM
Saint Alphonsus Festival of Trees
Saint Alphonsus RMC - Holy Cross Health System, Boise, ID

The annual Saint Alphonsus Festival of Trees celebration has raised more than $3 million since its inception 16 years ago. This year, the festival raised a record $507,535 and attracted more than 40,000 visitors to the event, held during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in downtown Boise. Sponsored by Saint Alphonsus and supported by 2,100 community volunteers and numerous corporations and businesses, the festival has garnered a strong regional reputation and hosts visitors throughout the Intermountain West.

Proceeds from the six-day event support health care programs, equipment and technology, which improves the health status for residents in the fast-growing region of southwest Idaho. Money also is allocated to provide services to rural populations within Idaho, Oregon and Nevada.

Runner Up: Saint Francis Hospital Auxiliary Ways & Means Committee - St. Francis Hospital and Health Centers, Beech Grove, IN - the committee was able to support various hospital programs, such as its scholarship and hospice programs, through fund-raising events.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND/OR COLLABORATION
Community Immigrant Population Outreach Program
Sisters of Charity Healthcare, Staten Island, NY

In 1997, the Sisters of Charity Healthcare in Staten Island, NY, began an aggressive outreach program to facilitate access of health care services for the local Latino and Polish populations. Working with the Staten Island Latino Civic Association and local parishes with large minority memberships, the system recruited bilingual volunteers from the community to serve as patient liaisons.

In 1998, the Sisters of Charity Healthcare began a similar approach with Russian, Korean and Chinese communities. They now provide many services to these ethnic groups, including 24-hour emergency service, children's health services, same-day surgery, nursing home services and home nursing, to name a few.

Parent-Infant Partner Program
Providence Hospital and Medical Centers, Southfield, MI

The goal of this program is to reduce the infant mortality rate among babies born to women at risk in Detroit and Wayne counties. It is a collaborative effort sponsored by seven hospitals in southeast Michigan. The Parent-Infant Partner Program trains volunteers from the community who are matched with expectant mothers, and provide pregnancy and parenting information, guidance and emotional support. The project has helped thousands of families since its inception in 1986.

Despite a mortality rate of 16.7 percent in greater Detroit, 519 babies were born to women in this program with a zero infant mortality rate in 1998.

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