On March 12, my hospital had just under 400 active volunteers in our department. A day later, they were all put on a leave of absence as the program was suspended when stay-at-home orders for the state began in the wake of the pandemic. With a very small exception, hospitals up and down the state experienced something similar. At that time, many in the profession wondered what would happen to our beloved volunteers and what would happen to the departments we ran. Now, more than six months later, I have only returned a small handful to active service within the medical center. Ironically, the Volunteer Services department is now actually busier with greater responsibility than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
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