This month is Ann’s 40-year anniversary as a volunteer with HSB! More impressive than the quantity of time she has served, is the quality of compassionate care she has provided over the years.
Here is a little bit about Ann and what brought her to Hospice of Santa Barbara (HSB) – Ann came to volunteer at HSB in 1982 after a lengthy career as a nurse and midwife in three countries. She saw firsthand the good work that volunteers did throughout her career. So, when she retired, she felt it was time for her to begin her volunteer career.
Ann has shared that she feels it is a privilege to be a volunteer and to give back in this way, and that she gets more from her volunteer work with patients/families than they get from her. Some of you may have heard her say this as well. She has expressed that she is grateful to the many patients and families, who by their gifts, have enriched her life. Ann has served as a Patient Care Volunteer, a Bereavement Volunteer, and a No One Dies Alone Volunteer. It is through many hours of listening to her patient’s stories, to the myriad of emotions one expresses when grieving, and in just being there for others, without judgement or agenda, that have made Ann such a valued person to HSB, and all the patients and families whose lives she has impacted and touched. Whenever Ann has been assigned to a patient there is full peace of mind that they will be well cared for.
Ann has given so beautifully over the past 40 years, and it is an honor to work with her! Happy 40th Anniversary, Ann!