Sharing some love

Thank you to our communities for the gift of your time and compassion.

We are honored to highlight just a few examples of the many ways our volunteers and donors go above and beyond to help us bring quality care to our local and worldwide communities.

Recovering after the storm

Volunteers in Waco stepped up to make sure patient care continued to run smoothly after the McClinton Cancer Center closed briefly due to extensive water damage caused by the winter storm in February 2021. Every thirty minutes, volunteers shuttled medications from the main hospital pharmacy to the temporary infusion center in the hospital’s auditorium. Though the cancer center reopened in April, our faithful volunteers continued to transport medications across our campus until repairs to the building’s in-house pharmacy were finally complete in September 2021.

“Our volunteers played a major role in our ability to continue caring for our infusion patients without having to send them elsewhere for treatment,” says Rhonda Luker, director of Guest Services at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Hillcrest. “We are so blessed to have such faithful volunteers.”

Giving from the heart

Valentine’s Day has always been a favorite for 16 year- old Bailey Schelsteder. Each year, she uses any money she receives for her birthday to buy stuffed animals to hand out to patients at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - College Station. Unable to visit the hospital because of pandemic safety precautions, Bailey has been collecting the toys since 2020. She was finally able to distribute them earlier this year, along with “get well” cards in English and Spanish from students in her class.

Christian Jose volunteers at the information desk at Baylor Scott & White in Round Rock.

Learning on the job

Christian Jose volunteered in several departments for nine months during the height of the pandemic at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Round Rock, all while continuing to master English as his second language.

“I was pretty fluent in reading and writing in English, but I had a harder time understanding the different accents and speaking fluently,” Christian says. “The face masks made it more difficult, but the experience definitely helped me improve.”

Now studying for a career in healthcare at the University of Texas in Dallas, Christian valued the opportunity to learn more about the experiences of doctors and nurses and saw firsthand how the pandemic affected their work. “I learned a lot about what my life would be like as a physician, the level of stress to expect and how to handle it,” Christian says. “I got advice from doctors and nurses who also had the challenge of a communication barrier, and I am even more motivated now to become a doctor.”

Joanne Williams and Matthew Danner sort medical supplies to be sent to Ukraine.

Giving hope and help

Baylor Scott & White employees volunteer their personal time to serve communities at home and abroad through our Faith In Action Initiatives (FIAI) program. Most recently, FIAI has responded to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, packing and shipping medical supplies to organizations treating wounded military and civilians.

“We do this because this is who we are as a healthcare system, as a Christian ministry of healing,” says Matthew Hoffman, director for FIAI. “As we send our prayers to the people of Ukraine, we also put our hands in action to be able to care for those in need.”