Community March 11, 2010
Volunteer efforts appreciated at YNHPH
"You made me look so happy, and so well," one patient told Emily Kilroy, who minored in fine arts in college, when she recently created charcoal portraits of the patients on the Dual Diagnosis Unit. Kilroy, a volunteer at the Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital, is a student in a joint program of Yale University and the University College of London (UCL) where she is in the psychodynamic developmental neuroscience program.
Currently, four students, all of them pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees in the field of psychology and all of them with an interest in art, are volunteering four hours a week on one of the three patient care units in the 74-bed Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital. Each student had requested work with psychiatric patients and, like all volunteers at YNHH, went through orientation with Volunteer Services.
Justine Giddens, who is in the same joint master’s of science program as Kilroy, said working on one of the YNHPH units took some adjusting at first.
"I had to get used to the fact that it is a locked unit, for the safety of the patients," explained Giddens, who plans to pursue a career in medicine and whose artistic specialty is collages. "I enjoy interacting with the patients. They and the staff are so appreciative of the work we do."
One volunteer, Miranda Farmer, is a junior at Yale College and is a psychology major, following a neuroscience track.
"I wanted to get a better feel for what hospitals are like and I also wanted patient contact," said Farmer, who recently helped patients make cards for Valentine’s Day. "I like that we are able to spend blocks of time with patients and I enjoy sitting in on therapy groups and community meetings."
Leslie O’Connor, APRN, director, Psychiatric Nursing Services, is delighted with the caliber of the students who volunteer and their commitment to the patients.
"We are very fortunate to have the group of volunteers we have," said O’Connor. "They are sensitive to the special needs and privacy of our patients and so willing to share their artistic gifts with them. Staff, patients and their families alike have commented on their contributions to the patient experience.
All of them have a promising career in mental health, or whatever field they choose to pursue.
"We are grateful they chose to volunteer at our hospital," said O’Connor.
"We are very fortunate to have the group of volunteers we have," said O’Connor. "They are sensitive to the special needs and privacy of our patients and so willing to share their artistic gifts with them. Staff, patients and their families alike have commented on their contributions to the patient experience.
All of them have a promising career in mental health, or whatever field they choose to pursue.
"We are grateful they chose to volunteer at our hospital," said O’Connor.
In the photo: Three of the four students who regularly volunteer at Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital meet with Judy Bedini, RN, off-shift administrator, who is the YNHPH volunteer trainer and coordinator. Shown are, from left, Justine Giddens, Bedini, Miranda Farmer and Emily Kilroy. Eleonora Cavalca, also a student with the joint Yale/UCL program, was unavailable for the photo.
