The Ottawa Hospital has long relied on volunteers to provide support in many clinical areas, offering assistance and companionship to patients. The very first male volunteer started at the Civic Hospital in the fall of 1968. James Hutchinson volunteered every Monday and Wednesday in either the admitting department or pushing patients in wheelchairs on their way to have casts put on. But his favourite job, according to an interview he did with the Ottawa Citizen 55 years ago, was working on the wards shaving male patients. He said it gave him the greatest satisfaction because many of the men were so sick, they couldn’t possibly shave themselves.
Today, volunteers remain an integral part of the hospital community, helping with wayfinding, providing musical moments, and even offering pet therapy.
Photo credit: Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
