Samaritan Announces Volunteer Service Award Winner
Published on: July 8, 2024
Watertown, N.Y. – At Samaritan, there are volunteers who serve at the hospital, long term care facilities, special events, off-site offices and on various boards of our respective entities. Initiated in 2023, the HIVE (Helpful Indeed – Volunteering Excellence) Award is a way to honor those volunteers who have contributed an extraordinary level of dedication and shown exceptional service to Samaritan while consistently demonstrating the HEART values, which are Honest, Empathetic, Accountable, Respect, and Trustworthy.
Why HIVE? The beehive is symbolic of teamwork, unity, growth, and development. At Samaritan, we are all caregivers, including those who have committed to showing extraordinary compassionate care as a volunteer. We need each other to care for our community.
The HIVE Award complements the existing DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses®, the BEE Award (Being Excellent Every Day) honoring other outstanding staff members who support patient care, at the hospital and all outpatient clinics, and the OWL (Outstanding Workers in Long Term Care) for the team of caregivers at the Samaritan Keep Home and Samaritan Summit Village. Altogether, we recognize the amazing caregivers of the Samaritan Health System and the culture we embrace.
The recipient for the first quarter of 2024 is David Cheney. David has been volunteering since 2022 and has assisted with various tasks, including distributing flyers, transporting patients within the Medical Center, helping at the Festival of Trees, and more.
Kristan Donoghue, the manager of Volunteer Services, mentioned, “David is always willing to help. He is respectful to staff, patients, and their family members. He never makes people feel rushed and is continually seeking new projects to tackle in various areas.”
David’s manager highlighted several instances of his willingness to assist where needed. For example, when his regular task of patient transportation was slow one evening, he recognized that the Emergency Department required help and stepped in to assist.
Those interested in recognizing a Samaritan volunteer may submit an online nomination at samaritanhealth.com/hive there are also paper nomination forms available at the Medical Center and Samaritan Summit Village gift shops.