Volunteers help make CVAHCS successful

The Department of Veterans Affairs will thank more than 22,000 volunteers for their contributions to Veterans at VA during National Volunteer Week. The CVAHCS has approximately 251 volunteers that serve in almost all areas of the facility. One of those is 93-year-old Dorothy Dickert.

Dickert has been a volunteer for 13 years at CVAHCS. Her husband was at CVAHCS for treatment for cancer, then later in hospice. “I used to do cross-stitch, so I’d work on it during his treatment,” said Dickert. The theme at hospice was ‘footprints in the sand’. After her husband passed, she came back out to CVAHCS and showed the hospice staff her project. The supervisor was impressed and asked her if she had time to be a volunteer. Dickert responded, “I have more time than anything else right now.”

She spent her first day addressing envelopes, then putting letters in the envelopes. The supervisor asked her to come back once per month. That turned into five days per week, four to five hours per day. For 13 years. She currently works in the Surgical Services department, calling Veterans to remind them of their appointments.

“She is one of the hardest working volunteers that we have,” said Michael Riddle, a Patient Care Coordinator in Surgical Services. “She will make between 100 to 200 calls every day to Veterans and that helps reduce the number of no-shows for our service line.”

“We are so amazed at the energy level she has and what she brings to serving Veterans,” said Tammy Finney

“I have been with the VA for 18 months and she has definitely made an impression on me. She’s little but mighty,” said Shannon Stone, a Voluntary Service Specialist. “She really wants to serve the Veterans.”

The Veterans Healthcare Administration depends on the goodwill of volunteers who want to give something back to America's heroes. Volunteers provide much-needed help throughout the health care system and make patients' experiences more enjoyable. Many different volunteer opportunities are available, and each volunteer's talents are closely matched with one of our assignments. No medical experience is necessary to become a VA volunteer and volunteers are encouraged to share ideas on how they would like to give back using their unique skills.

The contributions and efforts of VA’s volunteer workforce significantly enhance the quality of services provided to our nation’s Veterans and their families. During National Volunteer Week, VA will formally recognize and honor our volunteers for their profound impact to not only Veterans and families but to our dedicated VA employees whose work is supplemented through the contributions of these individuals.

As of Monday, April 17, Dickert is 187 hours short of 15,000 hours for her voluntary career. When asked what she has planned for after she hits that mark, she just chuckles, then says, “I’m going to retire.” Then adds, “I’m going to miss it, I know.”