CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System honors volunteers for service

Volunteer Sue Barchenger was honored for 6,000 hours of service at CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System, one of 35 people recently recognized for dedicating thousands of hours of their time.

“Volunteering doesn’t necessarily have to be a lot of time – anything you give back is helpful in one way or another,” she said, encouraging others to give back to their communities.

She started volunteering at CHRISTUS St. Michael Rehabilitation Hospital in 2014 and said she finds her volunteer journey at the hospital rewarding and encourages others to do the same.

“I love people and being able to assist them in finding where they need to be and in other ways,” Barchenger said. “It is very fulfilling.”

The 35 honorees along with previous volunteers have accumulated over 76,000 hours of donating their time and talents to community service at CHRISTUS St. Michael facilities in various areas, such as the gift shop and information desks.

“Our volunteers serve such a vital role in fulfilling our mission for our community,” said Jeanne Connell, director of auxiliary volunteers. “We are pleased to recognize the impact of their service through our annual service awards.”

In addition to Barchenger, volunteer honorees include:

• Erma Short: 5,500 hours
• Yasuyo Pantera: 4,500 hours
• Julie Foster and Nedra Frady: 2,500 hours
• Diane Moss: 2,000 hours
• Pam Frady, Diana Shaw and Marliese Stone: 1,500 hours
• Nancy James, Denise Nicholson and Rita Riley: 1,000 hours