Next week, health care leaders throughout the San Diego region will join to honor and celebrate the women and men who give selflessly to support hospitals.
This year, National Volunteer Week celebrates its 50th anniversary of both shining a light on the people who inspire through their service and thanking those who lend their time, talent, and voice to make a difference in their communities.
Here at the Hospital Association of San Diego & Imperial Counties, we also will pause to honor these amazing people — people like Linda Van Fulpen, manager of volunteer services at Sharp Grossmont Hospital, who recently received the prestigious Volunteer Professionals Award for Excellence from the Beryl Institute, a global organization that works to improve the patient experience.
Linda isn’t alone. In 2024, more than 6,100 volunteers in the region donated 404,000 hours of their time — a testament to their commitment to the patients and people we all serve.
All volunteers hold a special place in hospitals, especially in today’s volatile and uncertain environment. They remind us why health care is a field like no other: It is an opportunity, every day, to help our neighbors, friends, and loved ones live long, healthy, enriched lives.
I know firsthand just how important volunteers are to hospitals.
Early in my health care career, I had the privilege of serving as a hospital emergency department volunteer. I saw people during the hardest, most frightening times of their lives. Along with so many other volunteers, I did all I could to help these patients feel comfortable, cared for, and safe.
It meant something to them. And it meant something to us.
I also spent some time as a volunteer for the American Cancer Society — a calling close to my heart, as my father passed away from cancer when I was 19 years old. My father’s battle taught me a lifelong lesson: When you are sick, you can feel like you have no control.
He didn’t ask for cancer. And I didn’t ask to lose my father. Volunteering gave me something back. It helped me regain some sense of control through the comfort and support I was able to provide to others. Illness would not go unchallenged, and there is strength in numbers.
To continue to pay it forward, empowering and celebrating volunteers, I hope you’ll consider attending the 2025 California Hospital Volunteer Leadership Conference — an opportunity to dive deeper into hospital volunteerism with experts and peers. The conference will be at the Sharp Prebys Innovation and Education Center in San Diego on Sept. 15-16.
Volunteers truly are the heartbeat of hospitals, safe harbors in dangerous storms for family members who feel lost when their loved ones are ill or injured. They provide aid, comfort, and even something as simple as directions. They remind all of us that no one is ever alone. On behalf of all hospitals in our community, we thank every one of our hospital volunteers for all you do, each and every day.