Rapides Regional Medical Center volunteer Lula Hale was honored at the Louisiana Time Savings Bank Volunteer Program Awards Banquet for completing 2,023 hours of volunteer service in 2011.  Hale, who has served as a member of the Rapides Auxiliary since May 1988, has completed approximately 44,000 volunteer hours during her time at RRMC.  With this award comes a proclamation from Gov. Bobby Jindal setting aside a day in Louisiana to acknowledge her hours of service. She also received a certificate of appreciation and $250 check from the Rapides Council on Aging.

Also recognized were Burnidette B. Edwards, for 1,254 volunteer hours at Ball Senior Citizens Center and Cathryne W.Guin, for 1,115 hours at Ball Senior Citizens Center.

The Louisiana Time Savings Bank program is administered through Councils on Aging statewide. Volunteer hours are tracked by the facilities and agencies where volunteers serve and reported to the Rapides Council on Aging. Those details are submitted to the Governor’s Office of Elderly Affairs, and volunteers throughout the state are recognized for their service.

“This program is dedicated to honoring volunteers for their service,” said Bettye DeKeyzer, Rapides Parish Council on Aging. “It’s important that agencies let us know about their volunteers so we can recognize those volunteers statewide – and so these agencies can be recognized for what they are accomplishing with the help of local volunteers who enhance their programs and services.”

The Ladies Auxiliary of Baptist Hospital was organized in April, 1952. Today, the Rapides Auxiliary, which includes women and men, boasts approximately 90 members who provide vital services to our patients, visitors and staff.  “Each day, our volunteers meet people at their worst and at their best,” said David Williams, Rapides Regional Medical Center’s chief executive officer. “They’re there as you celebrate the birth of a child. They’re there as you wait for word for a loved one – and sometimes, they’re there when the good news doesn’t come. With their words and actions, they become part of the biggest moments of our patients’ lives.”

“Mrs. Lula is a perfect example of everything a volunteer should be. She is devoted to our hospital, to our staff and most especially, to our patients and their families. She is, as I’ve often heard said of our Auxiliary ladies, an ‘Angel in Pink.’”

For more information about volunteer programs at Rapides Regional Medical Center, visit www.rapidesregional.com and click the “Career Center” menu.