Volunteers stepping in to help hospital workers at Baptist Health as COVID-19 cases rise

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Volunteers are stepping up to help hospital workers at Baptist Health as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.

Area hospitals are admitting new COVID-19 patients every day. Baptist Health took in 61 new patients on Tuesday alone.

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For the first time since the pandemic began, Baptist called on team members not working in the hospital to help.

“Everybody is truly banding together to make the best of a very difficult situation,” said Kim Labree, the clinical director for Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Baptist CEO Michael Mayo put the word out, asking for volunteers on Sunday.

So Labree and 255 people and counting have volunteered.

“It’s our opportunity to give our time and help support team members on the hospital side — not only the patients going through the worse times of their lives, which in oncology we are seeing that every day, but also our team members who may or may not have seen anything like this before in their career,” Labree said.

With previous experience as an ICU nurse, she just wrapped up her first extra shift helping in the emergency room.

Labree said, “I passed out food, helped set them up with monitors, helped answer phone calls of family members who were calling from the outside not really knowing what was going on with their loved one.”

These volunteers are giving an extra set of hands to those working tirelessly to care for and treat hundreds of patients.

On Friday, Baptist Health had 346 COVID-19 patients. As of Wednesday, that number climbed to 430. That’s the most COVID-19 patients it has ever had.

Currently, 97% of the patients 12 and older inside Baptist hospitals are not vaccinated.

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It’s why the extra help is needed. Labree said she won’t stop helping despite the risk and extra hours.

“You feel honored that somebody would let you be a part of their life during the worst time, and so it’s an honor,” she said.

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