City’s Public Hospitals Honor Queens Volunteers and Encourage Others to Answer the Call to Service
Apr 29, 2009
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The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) recognized National Volunteer Week by honoring two outstanding volunteers who work in the public hospitals in the borough. These individuals represent more than 8,000 men and women who together have dedicated nearly one million hours of service to the city’s public hospitals system over the last year. HHC is also encouraging more New Yorkers to consider the interesting and rewarding volunteer opportunities available to help patients served by HHC. For information on volunteer openings at HHC visit NYCService.org.
HHC’s volunteers serve important supportive roles such as interpreters, patient librarians, patient advocates, chaplains, community and auxiliary board members.
“HHC volunteers have answered the call to service and exemplify the new era of volunteerism promoted by President Obama and Mayor Bloomberg. Our volunteers are a diverse group of New Yorkers who give back to their communities by donating their time and talent. They are a vital part of our mission to deliver quality, safe, compassionate healthcare to all,” said HHC President Alan D. Aviles. “We invite more New Yorkers to lend a hand in our hospitals, nursing homes and health centers and help us serve the 1.3 million patients who rely on our care every year.”
Queens Volunteers Honored
Jorge Succar began volunteering at Elmhurst Hospital Center in 1998 and has logged a remarkable 10,000 hours of service. Initially he helped patients and staff in the Ambulatory Care Specialty Services then transferred to the Volunteer Department. He completed a training program in medical interpreting and is a certified Spanish interpreter. He is called on to interpret throughout the hospital including the psychiatric units where a skilled interpreter is invaluable.
Samuel Kleinman came to Queens Hospital Center to volunteer after fifty years as a licensed Optician. He assists providers in the Ophthalmology Department’s Glaucoma Clinic teaching patients how to appropriately apply eye drops which are necessary to reduce ocular pressure. He spends time reinforcing instructions from the provider to the patient giving the patients a greater probability of a successful outcome from the eye treatment.
Contact: Ian Michaels (HHC) (212) 788-3339
About HHC
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is a $6.7 billion integrated healthcare delivery system with its own 420,000 member health plan, MetroPlusHealth, and is the largest municipal healthcare organization in the country. HHC serves 1.4 million New Yorkers every year and more than 475,000 are uninsured. HHC provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, five skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 70 community based clinics. HHC Health and Home Care also provides in-home services for New Yorkers. HHC was the 2008 recipient of the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commission’s John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality. For more information, visit www.nychhc.org/hhc or find us on facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem or twitter.com/NYCHealthSystem.