FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2008
City's Public Hospitals Honor Volunteers
Nearly One Million Hours of Service Provided to HHC Patients and Visitors
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) today recognized National Volunteer Week by honoring 31 volunteers who represent more than 8000 men and women who have dedicated nearly one million hours of service to the city’s public hospitals over the last year.
HHC’s volunteers give selflessly as they serve important supportive roles such as interpreters, patient librarians, patient advocates, chaplains, community and auxiliary board members. They also reflect the cultural diversity of New York City. This year’s awardees are from all parts of the globe, including Hong Kong, China, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and the United States.
"HHC’s volunteers are the unsung heroes of our health system. They are extraordinary New Yorkers whose ordinary acts of kindness provide that extra level of care and compassion to patients," said HHC President Alan D. Aviles. "Today is our way of saying thank you to the hundreds of volunteers across our system who are a critical part of our effort to provide the highest quality care to our patients and their families."
Deborah Freundlich of Bellevue Hospital Center and John Walz of Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Center and Home, were each named HHC’s Volunteer of the Year. John Walz was honored for his eight years of service to the Pastoral Care Department at Sea View. Deborah Freundlich was selected for her commitment to Bellevue’s Reach Out and Read Program where she has volunteered since 2001. Together they have devoted more than 2,000 hours of service to patients.
In addition, other outstanding volunteers from each of HHC’s eleven acute care hospitals and four nursing facilities were recognized at a luncheon attended by their friends and families. Those honored were:
Queens
Orlando Antonio and Aracelis "Annie" Riordan, Elmhurst Hospital Center
Eleanor E. Wilson and Meriam S. Custodio, RN, Queens Hospital Center
Staten Island
Vivian Lee and Katharine Lee, Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Center and Home
Brooklyn
Alla Ringer and Allison Goodman, Coney Island Hospital
Lawander Moore and Arthur Mayhue, Kings County Hospital Center
Princess Carter, Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
Juan Muniz and Fabiola Villanueva, Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center
Bronx
Thomas W. Connally and Iris Almonte, Jacobi Medical Center
Olga Rivera and Jonathan Rodriguez, Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center
Nana Anarfi and Elisa Marzan, North Central Bronx Hospital
Manhattan
America Miranda and Yolanda Hernandez, Bellevue Hospital Center
Jose Perez, Frances Peace, Vidal Quinones and Julia Randolph, Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital and Nursing Facility
Yie Moon Lee and Mei Chung, Gouverneur Healthcare Services
Keithroy Stevens and Linda Archer, Harlem Hospital Center
Rosalie Littlejohn and Isabel Monteverde, Metropolitan Hospital Center
HHC’s volunteers contribute invaluable services such as assisting with music and art therapy programs, helping out in patient libraries, greeting visitors, shuttling patients to and from chapel services, organizing fundraisers, providing grief counseling and entertaining children and seniors.
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the largest municipal hospital and health care system in the country, is a $5.4 billion public benefit corporation that serves 1.3 million New Yorkers and nearly 400,000 who are uninsured. HHC provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, four skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 80 community based health centers. For more information about HHC, visit www.nyc.gov/hhc.
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