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Fort HealthCare Seeks Volunteers to Join Fort HealthCare Partners

Community
Thursday, April 20, 2023

FORT ATKINSON – Fort HealthCare is looking for volunteers to join its Fort HealthCare Partners team. Founded as the Fort Atkinson Memorial Health Services Auxiliary in 1951, the Fort HealthCare volunteer program has evolved and expanded over the decades. Fort HealthCare Partners now serve in a variety of roles, providing crucial support to the staff and patients’ experience at Fort Memorial Hospital.

Since the pandemic, volunteers are in greater need than before. Fort HealthCare invites anyone with a desire to make an impact to volunteer. There are many positions available for volunteers to choose from depending on their interest. There are roles that are active or stationary, both in patient-facing locations and other areas of the hospital. However one wants to get involved, there is a position for them.

“Our volunteers are vital to what we do here,” says Kari Behling, Volunteer Services Manager at Fort HealthCare. “Chances are if you’ve ever visited Fort Memorial Hospital, you’ve met a volunteer. Some Partners have been with us for decades, and we always like to welcome new faces.”

One of our areas of service is the CareLine Emergency Personal Response System, formerly called LifeLine, started in 1984 by Fort HealthCare Partners. The service provides subscribers with an emergency communicator directly connected to our medical alert monitoring service, which alerts responders to the subscriber’s location so they can provide aid. The program is coordinated through the Volunteer Services Department, utilizing Fort HealthCare Partners.

Other positions that focus on patient interaction include staffing the hospitality cart, which offers healthy beverages and snacks, puzzle books, sleep aids and reading materials to patients at the hospital; managing the gift shop, which was started and is run by the Partners team; and acting as patient escorts: guides who help guests and patients find their way and move more easily around the hospital.

Other service areas currently in need of volunteer support are:

  • Ambulatory Services
  • Clerical Support
  • Cookie Sales
  • Laundry Service
  • Mail Delivery
  • Supply Delivery
  • Needlework (Sewing, Crocheting, Knitting)
  • Pet Therapy
  • Wheelchair Maintenance and Cleaning

Members of Fort HealthCare Partners volunteer for very personal reasons. Some want to maintain a sense of purpose or to fill some of their free time. Others have a desire to give back to their community and contribute to the health and wellbeing of family, friends, and neighbors. Volunteering with the Partners team can provide a chance to learn new skills, to meet new people, and to make lifelong friendships.

Anyone interested in joining the Fort HealthCare Partners can stop by the Volunteer Services Office at Fort Memorial Hospital, call 920-568-5276 or toll free at 1-800-421-4677 ext. 5276, or visit FortHealthCare.com/Volunteer to learn more.