Kansas City,
25
July
2018
|
10:36 AM
America/Chicago

Northland Urgent Care Volunteers Go Above and Beyond

Volunteers April Klein, Traci Burns, Sally LeVoir and Karla Calderon Gomez

Actions can speak louder than words.

When kids visit the Children’s Mercy Northland Urgent Care and are admitted for in-patient stays, they each receive a pillowcase made by staff volunteers.

“Our hope is these pillowcases bring patients comfort as they go to the hospital. Many of our families aren’t expecting to be admitted and it can be a scary time,” says Traci Burns, RN, BSN, who started the philanthropy project. “Our team is more like family. Everyone has giving hearts and we want our patient experience to be the best it can be.”

Burns’ daughter, Lauren, had knee surgery at Children’s Mercy when she was 8 years old. Lauren decorated a pillowcase with Child Life that still sits on her bed at her parents’ house and brings a smile to her face when she visits home. She’s now 26 years old.

That pillowcase was a treasured memento, and provided the spark for this idea which Burns is spearheading. About a dozen volunteers have met three times over the past few months to work and sew. They have completed 47 pillowcases and have 30 more in progress.

“It’s pretty remarkable that these volunteers are meeting on their own time outside of work. We meet at 9 a.m., so some staff volunteer for two hours before their shift starts or some even come in on their day off. I think that says a lot about this group,” Burns says. “We have experienced seamstresses and people who have never sewn. There are many jobs to do besides sewing, like pinning fabric together and lots of ironing!”

 

Learn more about volunteering at Children's Mercy.

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