Lately, I've been thinking I need to volunteer at a place. I have grown more than a little self-absorbed and self-centered, and what's worse, I rarely meet "non-Christendommy" people even in this little town. I go from work to home to friends to church to some activity for me, then back to work (right, back to work!). I've come up with the idea to volunteer at the hospital. The hospital is a place I never, ever go: I don't think I have darkened the door of a hospital for at least two years. That's why I thought it might be a good idea to spread good cheer and good will there. So my plan was to start in January.
. . . but then I had an unfortunate practical thought: will going to the hospital regularly to volunteer make it likely that I will catch some illness or other and spread it to my housemates? Will I put myself in the way of all sorts of unheard-of infections? In other words, should I just find a better place to volunteer, like a nursing home or something? I haven't even started looking into the need of these various places, or the hours. What are your thoughts?
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5 comments:
Have you ever thought about volunteering at the Crisis Pregnancy Center in town? I know some ladies who do that.
That's kind of why I didn't want to do it, because everyone else is. However, it's a good place . . . maybe I should.
Volunteering in the hospital would be FABULOUS! Or a nursing home! Depends on what you want to do. When my Mom was in the hospital, I couldn't help but think that if it wasn't for the fact that we were with her around the clock, she would have died there. While the care she received was great, the hospital staff couldn't be with her constantly to know exactly when she needed what, and she wasn't always strong enough to tell them. It made me really think about the number of people who die, not only alone, but prematurely, just because someone wasn't able to sit with them...so, all that being said, you could volunteer in a particular wing of a hospital, where infections/contagious diseases aren't floating in the air quite as much.
I think you have a great idea! And think about it; what percentage of a hospital has infectious people? Usually, you go the hospital for surgery or some sort of interior problem, not an infectious disease. I think you should contact the hospital, if you really feel called to do this, and discuss your concerns with whoever coordinates your time, and I'm sure everything will be just fine. Many blessings!
I volunteered at a hospital for several years in highschool, and most of my siblings have as well. None of us ever got sick. As a general rule most hospitals keep their volunteers away from the infectious places. My favorite place actually was in the Center for New Life helping with the new babies. Some hospitals will even allow their volunteers into the preemie wards because those little babies need lots of loving and holding and there are typically not enough nurses to go around the way they need.
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