Red Cross volunteers give boost to health center

HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, UNITED STATES

05.19.2021

Courtesy Story

U.S. Army Garrison - Redstone Arsenal

By REBECCA SALLEE Staff writer [e-mail]


Red Cross volunteers are reappearing at Fox Army Health Center, and more are needed.

The volunteer program was suspended last spring due to COVID-19, and the work of the volunteers fell on regular staff members, said Maj. Courtney Folderauer, deputy commander for nursing at Fox.

Folderauer came to Redstone Arsenal in August, after the Red Cross volunteers were gone, but said their presence was missed.

“Oh, yes, most definitely,” she said. “I didn’t get to experience them being in the facility and being part of the team, but I know there was a void.”

When the program was suspended in 2020, there were 28 Red Cross volunteers. When they returned in early March 2021, there were 13.

“A large percentage of our volunteers are elderly; staying home due to the pandemic,” Folderauer said.

Fox was one of the first military facilities in Alabama to bring its Red Cross volunteers back into service.

“We were required to prove to them with documentation to show we were taking precautions for COVID-19: masking, screening, social distancing,” Folderauer said. “The national (Red Cross) headquarters would grant us the approval to have the volunteers come back to the facility.”

Rick Montgomery of Hazel Green, a retired Army major who also worked for the Corps of Engineers and Navy, is one such Red Cross volunteer. He has worked in disaster services for the agency and as a helper at Fox.

“I’m the guy that sits up there at the front desk and points people in the right direction,” Montgomery said.

Patients are required to use their ID cards at a kiosk and get a ticket upon their arrival at the health center, so Montgomery also helps first-time users. “Some folks are a little bit intimidated,” he said.

Montgomery was surprised at the response of Fox staff members when he and other Red Cross volunteers returned to the health center.

“I didn’t think we were making that much of an impact,” he said. “All of the Fox people were thrilled.”

Sharon Rolf of Athens is an experienced Red Cross volunteer who is new to Fox. Like Montgomery, she also works with the Red Cross disaster services.

A FEMA reservist and wife of retired Navy Cmdr. Robert Rolf, she said she heard about the shortage of volunteers at Fox through the grapevine and decided to pitch in.

“I knew there was a need at this time for additional help,” she said. “It was a thrill to jump on board and come over here to help.”

Volunteers have control of their schedules and can choose the type of work they do, from working the front desk or assisting in the pharmacy, to helping with the sign-in process for those getting their COVID vaccines at Fox, she said.

Tammy Selby of Arab, the new volunteer coordinator lead at Fox, said recruiting is underway.

“We need at least another 15 (people),” said Selby, a retired office manager for a government contractor.

Last year, Selby headed up a group of volunteers called “Making Masks for Frontline Workers,” which has supplied some 22,000 masks at Fox. In that role, she learned about the need for Red Cross volunteers and decided to answer the call. She now hopes others will join.

Interested applicants can go to redcross.org and follow the prompts as follows: Volunteer, Explore Opportunities, enter zip code, check “Client Facing” and scroll to SAF: Service to Armed Forces, Fox Army Health Center. Volunteers will undergo a background check, complete online training (including HIPPA training), and be referred to her for in-person training at the health center, which usually takes about a half-day.

There are no age or physical requirements for this volunteer work, Selby said.

For more information on becoming a Red Cross volunteer at Fox, call Selby at 486-1091 or email her at [e-mail].

• Date Taken: 05.19.2021
• Date Posted: 06.09.2021 11:38
• Story ID: 397272
• Location: HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, US