Retirees return as volunteers

“When people work for so many years, some don’t want to come back anymore, but to me it was like coming home,” says Joanne Lawson, a retiree-turned-volunteer at St. Joseph’s Health Care London.

For most of her 42 years employed at St. Joseph’s, Lawson was a bright presence in patient registration at the Roth | McFarlane Hand and Upper Limb Centre (HULC) at St. Joseph’s Hospital. With a brilliant knack for reading people, she welcomed thousands of patients over the years.

“I always felt like my goal was to make them happy and make whatever they're worrying about easier. If they came to my desk upset and walked away laughing, then I did my job,” Lawson says.

Today, when you walk through the doors at St. Joseph’s Hospital, you might see Lawson behind one of St. Joseph’s information desks. Volunteers staff these desks every weekday from 8 am to 4 pm to provide useful directions, a welcoming smile, and a reassuring presence for anyone who may need extra help on their visit.

“Hospitals can feel like scary places in the sense that it's health care and it's a bit unknown to patients. They don't know where they're going and they're confused and they're a bit stressed. It really calms them to have someone here to help,”
-Bill Davis.

Lawson's shifts at the information desk echo what she loved best about her job at HULC, and exactly what she found herself missing after she retired two years ago. At the time, Lawson didn’t intend on returning to St. Joseph’s - in fact she meant to retire much earlier but couldn’t quite leave and stayed on as a casual employee.

“It's hard to make that cut and just walk away and know you're never coming back. I thought, what if I just come in a day or two? Well, I ended up working for another 7 years!” she laughs.

When she did retire at last, Lawson found herself enjoying the new stage of life, spending plenty of time with friends and family. When she made the decision to start volunteering a few months ago, it wasn't because retirement was dull. She knew there was a need, and she knew she could make a difference.

“There are all kinds of things I could be doing, but it has just meant more to me to go back and help people,” says Lawson.

This same motivation drove Bill Davis to return to St. Joseph’s a few years into his retirement, after having spent 22 years in an integrated role for St. Joseph’s Health Care and London Health Sciences Centre.

“I get to be at the place where I worked for so many years and still see some of the people I worked with. But the big thing for me was just giving back to the community and helping people. That was really the motivation,” Davis says.

During his career, Davis played a large role in shaping health care delivery in London. He worked on the first version of the electronic patient record and managed program transfers when London’s hospitals were reconfiguring programs and services into their current structure, followed by over 15 years as the integrated director of Medical Affairs.

“It was a busy time,” Davis says. “I became very familiar with St. Joseph’s Hospital as we built new buildings, tore old ones down.”

Now, Davis is on the ground behind the information desk at St. Joseph’s Hospital, helping patients navigate a health care system he had a hand in organizing. When offering directions, he rarely has to glance at a map, and it's no trouble for him to walk with people when they need a little extra help finding their way.

“Hospitals can feel like scary places in the sense that it's health care and it's a bit unknown to patients. They don't know where they're going and they're confused and they're a bit stressed. It really calms them to have someone here to help,” Davis says.

He’s seen it all, from people navigating with their smartphones, to neatly mapped printouts, to sometimes just a name scrawled on a scrap of paper. Even when people have direction aids at the ready, many folks see a friendly face and walk up to the information desk to chat anyway.

“They’re always so appreciative,” Davis says. “Some people come back on their way out after their appointment and thank you again. I think they also want to show that they found their way out again!”

Volunteers like Davis and Lawson make a difference every day at St. Joseph’s. During National Volunteer Week, taking place from April 27 to May 2, St. Joseph's offers special appreciation to the over 800 volunteers who generously give their time to enhance patient care. Learn more about volunteering at St. Joseph’s.