Pink Ladies are there to help
By Myra Miller
I was at the hospital on Tuesday morning - don’t panic; not as a patient, but as a Pink Lady.
I volunteered, alongside Kathy Henderson and Greta Manuel at Acadian Medical Center. I got to wear a pink smock, which happens to be one of my favorite colors.
The Pink Ladies are a non-profit group of volunteer women who give of their time to the hospital and patients.
They usually work three- hour shifts, Monday through Friday, morning or afternoons.
Most of the volunteers are retirees, so they are at liberty on which day they work.
The volunteers assist at different stations in the hospital: the gift shop, the outpatient surgery and the medical surgery department.
As I worked closely with Greta Manuel in outpatient surgery department and Kathy Henderson in the gift shop, I felt like I was giving back to people, and that’s exactly what Pink Ladies are about.
Manuel assisted me with pushing patients in a wheelchair after they were discharged.
Inside the outpatient room we helped patients to the wheel chair and pushed them to the front entrance way of the hospital, ready to go home.
I was first required to make a pit stop at the registration desk which requires the volunteer member to initial (DC) discharge next to the patient’s name before exiting the building.
When we (Greta and I) arrived at the front entrance we made our last stop at the doors to allow the patient’s driver to arrive with their vehicle. We assisted the patient, if needed, to the car.
The hospital’s gift shop is considered the Pink Ladies profit-making avenue.
Whatever profits the shop makes, the volunteers give back.
Some items that the monies go to include: decorative items for the hospital, a clock, a cross which stands on the hospital’s grounds, Christmas decorations, Relay for Life donation, two scholarships given to LSUE medical students, six crepe myrtles for the hospital’s landscape, and a TV in the waiting area of the hospital.
Hand-washing is required, essential, a priority, and the most important aspect for a Pink Lady to do.
Before a patient is discharged and wheeled out by a volunteer member she washes her hands at a wall dispenser.
Volunteering in outpatient department the Pink Ladies assist nurses with giving the patients ice, water or juice after surgery. Sometimes the ladies punch holes in patients’ charts sheets to help out the work load of nurses.
Some Pink Ladies serve as greeters at the front doors of the hospital, assisting people to designating departments of the hospital.
And others serve as “gofers” or a courier running errands or documents from one department to the other.
Manuel, a Pink Lady of five years, says that she enjoys the volunteer work. She retired as an administrative assistant in the business technology department at LSUE.
Henderson, a Pink Lady of five years loves the work and says it is rewarding to help others and to give back.
The Pink Ladies was organized in 1957.
The Pink Ladies meet every first Wednesday to discuss events or make decisions as a group on different issues. They also enjoy a luncheon together during this time. The group selects a Pink Lady of the Month during the meeting.
The Pink Ladies officers include Lise Richard, president; Yvonne Perrodin, vice president; Helen Tanner, secretary; Flossie LeDoux, treasurer; and Theresa Corbello, reporter. There are presently 22 volunteers.
Want to become a Pink Lady? It’s easy. There are applications available inside the gift shop. The ladies are currently looking for volunteers. The Pink Ladies welcome women of all ages who are willing to give of their time.