Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) in Cobourg is celebrating its ability to attract and retain volunteers in a sector that’s witnessing a growing decline in volunteerism in Canada.
According to Statistics Canada, the total number of volunteer hours has decreased significantly across Canada during recent years, particularly in sectors related to hospitals. In 2018, the total number of volunteer hours in sectors related to hospitals dropped by 47 per cent, followed by sports and recreation associations (down by 34 per cent), education and research (down by 30 per cent), and religious organizations (down by 23 per cent).
Despite these statistics, the hospital in west Northumberland County continues to maintain a healthy number of volunteers — more than 325 — who are part of the NHH Auxiliary.
“I really think it is a mix of many factors, but a big one is the fact that we have evolved a shared governance approach involving a very dedicated auxiliary board supported by a dedicated hospital staff lead to support volunteers with their day-to-day needs,” Jennifer Gillard, NHH’s vice-president of patient experience, public affairs, and strategic partnerships, told kawarthaNOW.
“It has taken some years to get back to pre-pandemic levels, but with steady effort and a very engaged community keen to give back, we’re on the right track and feeling very grateful.”
The NHH Auxiliary hosted its annual meeting in late July in the Peter B. & Mary T. Smith Community Education Centre at NHH. According to a media release, the meeting had a strong turnout of attendees that included auxiliary volunteers, volunteer coordinators, board members, NHH senior leadership, and representatives from the boards of directors of both NHH and the NHH Foundation.
Current auxiliary president Selena Forsyth hosted the meeting, which marked the conclusion of her three-year term at the helm. Attendees heard about the following achievements during of the auxiliary during the past year.
Recruitment and retention and operational support
With the support of a dedicated staff member provided by the hospital, the auxiliary now has more than 325 volunteers who support in-hospital and retail activities with all coordinator positions filled, communication channels strengthened, and a new mechanism for monitoring volunteer experience and feedback.
Retail and fundraising achievements
Through its two retail operations, the Little Treasure Shop in the hospital and Petticoat Lane, a thrift shop on Munroe Street in Cobourg, the auxiliary donated $225,000 in the past fiscal year to NHH to support the purchase of new privacy curtains that surround patient beds. This donation was made in addition to the board’s annual Dixie Mikel Scholarship for an exemplary student volunteer. Exceeding its target, the donation went down as the auxiliary’s second largest annual donation to the hospital in its 101-plus year history.
Auxiliary governance
In addition to growth and succession planning across the board of directors (which now includes representation from both retail and patient care contributors), the board was supported by local governance expert Pam Went to complete a review of auxiliary bylaws. Approved by members at the meeting, the review ensures compliance with governance best practices.
Joint communication and community engagement
Forsyth expressed appreciation for the auxiliary’s continued participation in NHH’s joint communication and community engagement working group, alongside representatives from NHH, NHH Foundation, and the patient and family advisory council, “supporting consistent and timely communication and engagement across the inter-related teams and the community to ensure all are rowing in the same direction.”
Forsyth concluded her remarks by reflecting on her experience with the auxiliary.
“This year, I will mark 23 years of service to the auxiliary,” she said. “I started at the legacy Cobourg site and spent the majority of my volunteer time here at NHH. In that time, I’ve had the opportunity to volunteer in almost every area of the hospital. I have an immense gratitude for all I’ve had the opportunity to volunteer with.”
Forsyth formally welcomed Rick Riley, who was announced as the incoming president of the NHH Auxiliary.
Following the outgoing president’s remarks, NHH’s Gillard provided an update on volunteer operations and the hospital’s unique shared governance model, thanking Graeme Bakker, NHH’s interim manager of volunteers, for the work completed in recent months to introduce standard operating procedures to support volunteer recruitment, orientation, onboarding and day-to-day operations. She also welcomed Rachael Milne, who assumes the role of interim volunteer lead this month.
“Volunteer support of this magnitude is, sadly, on the decline at many Ontario hospitals,” Gillard said. “Here at NHH, volunteers and, particularly, auxiliary volunteers, are literally everywhere.”
According to Gillard, the estimated auxiliary commitment to NHH during the past year, measured in terms of hours of time volunteered, now sits at more than 42,000 hours — an average of 129 hours per year per volunteer, or 10 hours per month by each volunteer.
Other highlights from the auxiliary’s board’s year-end financial report included The Little Treasure Shop increasing its annual sales by 11 per cent for an overall contribution of $67,000 in the last fiscal year, and Petticoat Lane’s annual sales increasing by six per cent for an overall contribution of $155,000 in the last fiscal year.
According to NHH, the NHH Auxiliary has collectively raised $5.4 million for the hospital during its 101 years in existence.
