When you think about supporting your local hospital, you might think about giving a donation or joining the hospital’s volunteer program. But the team from Gateway Painting recently did something just a little different for our patients and team members. They visited Grand River Hospital to brighten one of the mental health care units with a fresh coat of paint as a part of the Gateway Gives Back program.

Nancy Murray has been a volunteer at Grand River Hospital for about six years now, but her passion for health care began much earlier on in her life. Growing up, she was inspired by a family friend she looked up to who worked as a nurse. In particular, Nancy was captivated by her unique brooch-style watch, which was pinned upside down on her nursing uniform so she could easily look down and read it while helping patients. 

“As a child, I remember her watch and her white uniform and her hat, and she’d say, ‘Well I need that watch [so] I can tell if people’s hearts [are] working okay.’ And that’s what inspired me. I wanted to be a nurse,” Nancy recalled. “She was thrilled when she found out I was doing the volunteering at the hospital.”

Joyce Bell was Grand River Regional Cancer Centre’s very first volunteer when it opened in 2004.

“I had applied to Grand River Regional Cancer Centre before the building was completed,” Joyce recalled. “I did tours for the public of the Cancer Centre before it officially opened and worked the first shift of the Monday it opened.”

Ed Cober and his wife have been coming to Grand River Hospital for more than a decade. Ed’s wife is a Kidney Care patient who regularly receives dialysis at the Hospital, a procedure that helps patients by cleaning their blood when their kidneys no longer can. Patients typically require dialysis three times every week, with each treatment lasting for about four hours—Ed and wife have been coming to Grand River Hospital on a regular basis since 2011.

Meet Justin Hammond, a Grand River Hospital volunteer who has taken on numerous roles throughout the Hospital. Since he began volunteering in January 2018, Justin has volunteered in the Emergency Department, with the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP), as an Information and Portering volunteer, with Grand Venture (the Foundation’s online shop in support of the Hospital), and by giving hospital tours for new volunteers and employees.

John Lindsay has a personal connection to Grand River Hospital that led him to become a volunteer.

“As a former Grand River Hospital patient, I felt a great desire to give back to both the Hospital and the community,” John told us.