Retired Nurses Continue to Influence Patient Care through Volunteer Roles

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 4, 2014) — More than a decade ago, Ruth Berry and Gail Carpenter retired from longtime careers practicing and teaching nursing to college students. But even in retirement, the two friends and former colleagues are drawn back to the health care setting where they continue to serve patients in meaningful ways.

Wearing the volunteer uniform of pale blue button-down shirts and navy blue slacks, the retirees sort through piles of mail, organize a cart full of cookies and help families navigate the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital. During the Thursday morning shift they share at the UK HealthCare Volunteer Office, they deliver mail, bouquets of balloons and flower arrangements to patients throughout the hospital.

Often during deliveries, they will offer to open and read mail to incapacitated patients. As former nurses, they are well-versed on bedside manner and sensitive to the health care circumstances affecting each patient. Although their role today is on the periphery of medical care, they know a few moments to sit and listen could make a difference in the patient's life.

"Going into a room in pediatrics where a child is alone, and opening up the mail for them and spending a few moments with them — those are precious moments just to be able to talk to them," Berry said. "They might not have family member there all day."

When asked why they volunteer, Carpenter and Berry say their roles keep them connected to the health care profession, but they also enjoy the camaraderie of the volunteer office. Both women retired from faculty positions in the UK College of Nursing and at Lexington Community College (now known as Bluegrass Community and Technical College) and are now members of the hospital's auxiliary board of directors. Berry and Carpenter first became acquainted as colleagues from their involvement in the university community and professional organizations. Carpenter, who retired in 1997, helped recruit Berry to the volunteer office after she retired in 2000.

Carpenter's interest in a profession in nursing started in high school when she learned of a friend's sister who was completing a nursing program in New York City. She was attracted to a profession caring for people and was fascinated by the science of nursing. She accepted a position teaching fundamental courses and pediatric nursing at Lexington Community College in 1976 and eventually become coordinator of LCC's nursing program, retiring in 1997.

Berry, whose mother was a neonatal nurse who emigrated from Germany, read the popular Sue Barton series of youth novels when she was young, which sparked her interest in a nursing career. At the age of 14, she started working as a nurse's aide in a local hospital. While she originally intended to study chemistry in college, she chose to study nursing at the collegiate level. She joined the faculty of the UK College of Nursing in the Department of Public Health Nursing in 1965, and after a period of time away from the profession, returned to the department in 1986. During her time at UK, she established a health clinic for the homeless and a parish nursing program, retiring from her role in 2000.

"I always liked helping and being with folks," Berry said.

When she first started volunteering, Carpenter was assigned to assist with a health clinic run by Berry, who was still working as a faculty member. Berry was thrilled to have Carpenter, a former nurse, as a volunteer in her clinic. Carpenter also volunteered as a patient liaison in the surgery department for several years before she changed roles to delivering mail and flowers. After her retirement, Berry decided to join Carpenter as a UK HealthCare volunteer on Thursdays. She also works in the auxiliary gift shop, which is primarily staffed by volunteers, on Mondays.

In addition to serving together at on a weekly basis, the women fill their schedules with volunteer roles for the Lexington Public Library, God's Pantry and the Department of Veteran's Affairs hospital. They are members of the same theater club, which meets several times a year. Outside of the volunteer office, Berry said Carpenter is a reliable friend. Carpenter has helped Berry through periods of hospitalization, picking her up for appointments at 5 a.m.

"(Volunteering) is more enjoyable when I know we can be there together and we can catch up at some of our other events," Berry said of Carpenter. "If we have concern about something, we can share it with each other."

As volunteers, Berry and Carpenter have heard many stories and met many interesting people of all ages. They have developed a sense of community and purpose within the hospital through their involvement. They are always encouraging others to become new volunteers at UK HealthCare as help is constantly needed for patients and visitors.  

"We get to see how the medical center really works," Carpenter said of volunteers. "We have a way of helping people navigate them through this physical maze at the medical center — it's enjoyable to do."

To learn more about volunteering, visit http://ukhealthcare.uky.edu/volunteer. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Elizabeth Adams, elizabethadams@uky.edu