April is volunteer month.

Please consider volunteering at Perham Health or Perham Living and helping others.

Volunteers enrich the experience of patients, families, visitors, and employees, support the work of our medical staff, and contribute to our healing environment.

Meet Volunteers Pam Hanson and Don Garber

Pam Hanson, Perham Living Gift Shop Sales Associate

When Pam retired from teaching in Wadena in 2016, she wasn’t ready to stop helping others, so she started helping out in her granddaughters’ classrooms. Realizing she had even more time to give, she decided to look for a volunteer opportunity that was completely different from teaching—something that would give her a social outlet and teach her some new skills.

Don Garber, Greeter at Perham Health

Don and his wife Carolann, a teacher, were hog and beef cattle farmers and raised crops to feed the animals. In the early 1990s, they operated a bed and breakfast out of their farm home for about five years, during which time he learned a thing or two about hospitality. Don retired in 2001. Whenever he and Carolann went to their doctor appointments, they were welcomed with a friendly hello from a greeter as they entered Perham Health. Don liked that and thought it looked like a volunteer job he would like to do.

Pam can now be found every Friday in the gift shop at Perham Living, and Don can be found every Monday, greeting people at the front door of the clinic and the hospital.

A Typical Day as a Volunteer

For Don, a typical day involves greeting people, getting wheelchairs, directing patients and visitors to where they are going, and helping with anything else they might need. “We just try to help people as much as we can,” he says. He works the afternoon shift from 12:30 to 4:30, and someone else works the morning shift from 8:30 to 12:30.

For Pam, a typical day involves displaying items for sale, waiting on customers, and visiting with the residents and employees. “We sell various items – home decor, candles, jewelry, inspiration, cards, and stamps, to name a few. Sometimes, residents come in to buy something for a new baby, look for something for their room, or have their family buy something for their loved one. Residents, employees, and visitors stop into the gift shop. I’m right across from the main area where they have many activities, so I’m an unofficial greeter, too,” said Pam. If there is downtime, she can read her book.

Why They Volunteer

“When you get older, it’s good to be around people and do things rather than just staying home,” says Pam. “I like having a purpose in my life and giving back. Many residents can’t go shopping downtown, so I feel like I am providing a service that is really important to them. And I enjoy visiting with them,” explains Pam.

“It’s interesting to watch people as they come in because not everyone is happy. Some people are scared or sad, so I smile at them and say ‘Good afternoon’, and their eyes brighten. They answer with ‘good afternoon,’ and it makes their day brighter,” says Don.

“You come home with a pretty good feeling. You’ve helped cheer someone up, and you are helping people in the community,” says Don. He’s been having so much fun that he doesn’t remember how long he has been volunteering, but he thinks it has been about seven years.

“I served on the hospital board for twelve years, so the hospital always had a soft spot in my heart. The new hospital is a showcase that we can all be proud of. Volunteering is one way to support it,” says Don.

Perham Health Makes Volunteering Easy

“One of the things I like about the opportunity is that they’re very understanding. If I want to do some traveling, the weather is bad, or I need to help out with the grandkids, they understand,” Pam explained.

Don agrees, “We can pick our schedule. They know we’re volunteers, and whenever I’ve told them I can’t be there, they understand, and I appreciate that.”

They each picked volunteer opportunities that fit their lifestyles. “The Perham Living gift shop had openings that better fit my schedule and provided me with an opportunity to learn new skills,” says Pam. Being a greeter in the afternoon fit Don’s schedule.

Perham Health’s volunteer coordinators provide training and set up the volunteer schedules. Don and Pam got training to do their volunteer jobs, including shadowing someone and on-the-job training.

What Advice They Have for Others

Don advises, “Just try it. It’s a volunteer position. Talk to the volunteer coordinators. They can tell you about the various opportunities. When I started as a greeter, there was a pool of substitutes that could cover your shift, but I don’t think there is one anymore. We would like to fill all time slots with a substitution pool of about six or eight volunteers.

“If you’re thinking about it, talk to some volunteers and find out what they do and how they like it. You can also try it. No one’s going to hold you to it forever because you’re a volunteer,” advised Pam. “We can always use help in the gift shop. We like to be open daily but aren’t fully staffed with volunteers.”

Benefits of Volunteering

• Connects you to others
• Allows you to meet new people and make new friends
• Increases your self-confidence
• Lessens depression
• Teaches you valuable job skills and provides career experience.

Volunteers tend to be happier and healthier because they give freely of themselves to help others. Perham Health benefits from having people who enrich the experience of patients, residents, families, visitors, and employees.

“I enjoy it, and I think other people would too. It’s just fun to help people,” says Don. Pam agrees, “Volunteering is a good way to give back to the community.”

Learn more about Volunteering.

About Perham Health 

Perham Health is a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital with three primary care clinics, a 96-bed nursing home, home health care agency, adult day services, memory care assisted living, and senior housing.  The medical staff consists of 24 physicians, a nurse midwife, 14 advance practice clinicians, and three chiropractors. Visit perhamhealth.org to learn more.