15 Mar Volunteers in Medicine Hilton Head Island Celebrates Its Volunteers
Volunteers in Medicine Hilton Head Island has more than 650 volunteers who generously donate more than 52,000 hours of patient services annually. On March 4, at the annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon, volunteers with 5-25 years of service were honored. Sheila Rosenbaum, the esteemed 25 year recipient, remembers starting at VIM HHI 25 years ago as a scheduler and commented how remarkably far the clinic has come today in record and appointment keeping. Also celebrated was Margaret Lawless who will retire from VIM HHI next month after 22 years of service.
Eight volunteers received the 20 year service award including 5 physicians, 12 volunteers received an award for 15 years of service and 14 volunteers received the 10 year service award. The value of donated hours of all VIM HHI volunteers exceeds $2 million annually. Each day of the week 40-60 volunteers are needed in the clinic to welcome, register and treat more than 100 patient appointments and walk-ins. Our Volunteer Satisfaction Survey reports that 98% of respondents would definitely recommend VIM HHI to friends and others as a great place to volunteer!
Volunteers in Medicine HHI currently serves over 27,000 patient visits each year and provides 23 medical specialties and five disease management clinics for those patients with chronic disease such as diabetes and hypertension. The clinic provides free medical, dental, mental health, vision and prescription drug care for those residents of the community who live and or work on Hilton Head or Daufuskie Island, earn less than 200% of federal poverty levels and are underinsured or uninsured. VIM is the model for 88 free health clinics throughout the country. Funding is through grants and donations. VIM neither seeks nor accepts government support.
Volunteers in Medicine Clinic’ provides a “safety net” for our community continues and is more important today than ever before. New patients are added on a daily basis and current patients receive treatment as we fulfill our mission: to understand and serve the health and wellness needs of the medically underserved population and their households, living and/or working on Hilton Head and Daufuskie Islands. Anyone interested in learning more about volunteering can visit our website at www.vimclinic.org. A volunteer orientation is held on the 3rd Tuesday of every month and is required prior to volunteering.