Volunteers - Mercy Medical Center Auxiliary

The volunteers who make up the Mercy Medical Center Auxiliary are the most dedicated in Arkansas. Our volunteers have won statewide awards for logging more service hours than the volunteers of any service organization in the state.

In an average year, 300 Mercy volunteers log more than 58,000 volunteer hours, filling important hospital posts such as greeting, visiting and transporting patients, working in the Gift Shop, staffing the information desk and providing a friendly face in the surgical waiting room.

At Mercy, we work hard to to match a volunteer with hospital activities most suited to the volunteer's individual interests.

There is always room for more community-minded individuals who would like to give their time and talents as part of the award-winning Mercy Medical Center Auxiliary.

Become a Mercy Volunteer

You can Make A Difference to Mercy patients, families and co-workers in many areas, such as:

• Arts & Crafts - participate in a group setting to make crafts for bazaars and bake sales
• Baby Caps - crochet / knit baby caps, booties and gowns for new babies born at Mercy Medical Center and for sale in the Gift Shop
• Gift Shop - located inside Mercy Medical Center, provide sales and display assistance
• Shuttle Service - drive electric cars in the visitors lot to "give a ride" to those coming to the hospital or physician clinics
• Transport / Discharge Service - assist patients to their destination
• Hospitality - visit patients and families to offer magazines, visitation, etc.
• Emergency Room - greet patients and provide comfort measures, such as coffee, warm blankets, etc.
• Information Desk - provide directions and information to visitors
• Surgical Waiting Rooms - be a comforting presence and provide updates to families and visitors
• Magazines - distribute updated magazines throughout the hospital family areas
• Mercy Health Center - provide information desk and clerical assistance
• Osage Terrace Assisted Living Center - visit with clients, play dominoes, etc.

Benefits of becoming a Mercy Volunteer

• 25% meals/drink discount in hospital cafeteria
• free beverage when working
• free flu shot (when available)
• service pins for hours served
• annual appreciation event
• opportunities to attend conventions and regional meetings
• bi-monthly "Grapevine" newsletter
• inclusion in various hospital events
• building friendship and serving others
• and most important ? The opportunity to MAKE A DIFFERENCE by touching lives?

If you are interested in any of the above areas, or would like to speak to the Mercy volunteer coordinator, please call (479) 338-3353.

WHALE (We Have A Little Emergency)

In cooperation with local fire and police officials, Mercy Auxiliary is participating in a nation-wide program to help emergency personnel identify young children involved in car accidents when the driver is injured.

W.H.A.L.E., which stands for "We Have A Little Emergency," is a sticker identification project to aid in identification of a child in a car seat if the driver of the vehicle is unconscious or incapacitated due to a motor vehicle accident. It targets children under four years of age who may not be able to communicate their name or medical needs to police officers or emergency personnel.

The program consists of two stickers: an identification/information sticker placed on the back of the seat and a participation sticker placed on the window of the vehicle. The information label includes name, address, how to contact next of kin and any other important medical needs of the child.

Thirty states have already implemented the program. In Arkansas, 34 hospitals are participating thus far, representing more than half of the facilities in the state. The program was created by a Virginia caretaker who wondered what would happen to the children in her care if she were ever injured in an accident.

Theda Aud, State President of the Arkansas Hospital Auxiliary Association 1999-2000, heard of the idea while attending a conference in Chicago in 1998. The program was adopted unanimously as a statewide project of the AHAA when it was presented to the State Board.

The stickers are free to the public and are available at all northwest Arkansas hospitals. Feel free to email Michelle.Bass@Mercy.net to request your WHALE brochure and stickers.

Call (479) 338-3353 for more information about Mercy Auxiliary or e-mail us at Michelle.Bass@Mercy.net.