Volunteers at the heart of Bruyère Health
Note: COVID-19 vaccination is required for everyone who works, visits, learns, does research, volunteers and is a member of the Designated Care Program at Bruyère Health. This will apply except in cases with a documented medical or human rights exemption. Read the complete policy.
Volunteers at Bruyère Health are essential team members, sharing their time, energy, and expertise to help make each life better.
The people we care for, and their loved ones are with us for different parts of their care journey. Some are in our care at our specialized hospitals from 3 weeks to 6 months, and others, call Bruyère home as a resident in one of our long-term care homes. This provides a unique opportunity to connect with patients or residents and their loved ones over time and witness and assist with the progression through their care journey.
With the support of our volunteers, we can enhance the experience and quality of life of those we serve at Bruyère Health.
Ready to join us? Learn more about:
Clara
Volunteering at Bruyère Health is an incredibly rewarding experience - I'm so glad to have the opportunity to positively impact patients' lives and give back to my community.
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Eric
I am a volunteer on the transitional care floor at Bruyère Health's Saint-Vincent Hospital. Volunteering through Bruyère Health is a fantastic opportunity to give back to the community and provide support for the healthcare system and its workers. The pandemic has been disproportionately challenging for residents and patients staying in a hospital or long-term care setting, and engaging in meaningful conversations can provide a significant boost to quality of life. Volunteering at Bruyère Health is very rewarding, and patients frequently express their gratitude for the assistance and socialization that volunteers provide.
Chaimae
Les trois mois passés en tant que bénévole dans le département des ressources bénévoles, ont été très riches en leçons humaines et professionnelles à la fois, et ont constitué pour moi un tremplin au sein de Santé Bruyère. Cela n'aurait pas été possible sans l'aide de l'équipe des ressources bénévoles qui a fait preuve d'un esprit d'équipe et d’un professionnalisme hors paire.
Fisseha
I consider myself very fortunate to be able to support people in need of care through the Bruyère Health Volunteer Program. It is enjoyable and rewarding to be a member of the Bruyère Health family. For me, volunteering is a way of life, and I always cherish the time I spend with the people I care about.
André
Fifteen years ago, I retired from the Forces. After two years of doing nothing except jugging and walking. I felt in my heart that I was missing something. I kept thinking what could it be? Finally I realized that I was missing my parents, gone for many years, the though was still there.
One day, while walking in front of Bruyère Health, I stop and wondered, Is, this the place I am looking for? I entered the building and went to the Volunteers Office where I was met by a lady (Karen) welcoming me with a big smile. I introduced myself and gave her my CV, and asked her, if they were looking for volunteers. She (still with a big smile), said Yes Yes. Immediately, I knew I was in the right place and found what I was looking for.
Now, for the past twelve years, I have occupied different positions, where I am always welcome with a friendly smile. Everyone I met, look very happy to be working at Bruyère Health and being part of a big family team.
So if anyone feels they are missing something in there life, and are ready to share your love with others, have empathy and are compassionate, please, give a call to Bruyère Health Volunteer Services. The patients need you, and we, the volunteers need reinforcement.
Daniel
It all started with Sister Louise Charbonneau, a member of the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa. I was retired, and Louise and I had a class in theology together at St Paul University. We had hit it off, and at some point, Louise asked if – once I was finished with my courses there – I would be willing to sit on Bruyère Health’s ethics advisory committee (EAC) as the community representative. I asked questions, liked what I heard and agreed.
Besides participating in EAC clinical discussions, I have been able to contribute – because law is part of my background – by analyzing and making presentations on major legal developments (not least the Supreme Court decision on medical assistance in dying) as well as on research (e.g., on sexuality, intimacy, love and belonging in long term care) in order to promote discussions on what the developments mean for Bruyère Health. I also brought LGBT sensitive training to Bruyère Health.
Not long after I began volunteering at Bruyère Health, I was asked to visit a 90-something Polish lady at Saint-Vincent Hospital with complex health issues and dementia. She had been living in isolation, her children too far away to keep an eye on her, and she couldn’t actually remember who she was. Bruyère Health’s team assessed that she could bounce back with social stimulation. By chance I met the daughter on one of my first visits and I requested a photo album. With that the lady and I could sit together and regenerate memories. She had grown up in what is now western Ukraine. When Hitler and Stalin carved up Poland in 1939, she and many other Poles were removed to central Asia. From there many trekked to Persia, where the British shipped them to the U.K. and back into the war. Trained as a nurse, this lady was part of the Polish fighting forces that fought at the famous battle of Monte Cassino. There she met her future husband. They settled in Ottawa after the war. I also took her to cooking and gardening classes. Initially rather negative, she got to where I could ask if she wanted to go, and she would often reply with an enthusiastic “Why not!?!” At the classes, I helped the RTs do their magic with the residents. Sometimes my Polish lady and I would sit in the room on her floor that overlooks Lebreton Flats and the War Museum. On those occasions, she would often point toward some bushes along the banks of a stream and say people were living there underground. It was a war-time memory struggling to emerge.
My experience as a friendly visitor with this Polish lady was my most rewarding assignment at Bruyère Health. It lasted 19-20 months, until she had recovered well enough to move to the Perley.
This is just a fraction of what I have done in my 12 years with Bruyère Health. I like very much Bruyère Health’s philosophy of “humanizing health care”. I believe Mother Bruyère and the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa laid a very solid and caring foundation, and I hope that will continue forever.