Stamford Health is thankful for the many volunteers that make a difference at the hospital every day. Our staff ensures that our volunteers are well-matched and well-recognized for their individual strengths and talents, with a fit for everyone — from teenagers to adults! Today, we're spotlighting Sue Greenberg, who has been volunteering for 50 years now. We hope her story may inspire you to volunteer; you can learn more about our volunteer opportunities here.

Thank you for all you do for Stamford Health! Tell us about your volunteer work.

I started as a transporter taking in patients to the radiation therapy department for their treatment and taking them back to their rooms. And then I worked at the front desk, which was fun. But I really liked the patient involvement.

One day, the head of volunteers asked if I’d be interested in working at a nursing unit and I said I’d love to. I started working in the emergency room – I spent about 46 years working in the emergency room and I just loved it. And then a couple of years ago, I started volunteering at the Bennett Cancer Center. I work in the infusion center.

What do you typically do on your shifts?

When a patient comes in, I check their armband and I come inside and I tell the nurse who's here. I do rounds, I go to all the rooms and I check and see if someone needs a warm blanket, if they need something to drink, if there's anything I can do for them. And people are very, very open to that. I even have one patient who was a reader and she's always talking to me about books because I'm a reader and we talk. We give each other suggestions for books.

But the other thing that I do that I find really amazing is, thanks to the Hope in Motion Walk, we have lunches for all our patients that are free, and every day they come around with a tray full of bags and I go in and I offer the patients lunches, which they are so grateful for. If you're sitting there for a five-hour infusion or a six-hour infusion, it's awfully nice to have somebody bring you lunch.

Why did you become a volunteer?

I've been a volunteer at Stamford Hospital for almost 50 years. I started out when my youngest child went to school and I wanted to do some volunteer work, and the hospital just seemed like the natural place. And I think we're so lucky to have Stamford Hospital that I just wouldn't have gone anywhere else.

Do you have any advice for others looking to get involved?

People say how wonderful it is to work here, what we do as volunteers. But volunteers get so much more out of what they do — to see a smile on someone's face, or just to make somebody feel like they're there and you're there for them and you want to help them is very, very self-satisfying.