Bridgeport Hospital physical therapist Paul de Regt joined colleagues who volunteered at last month’s Special Olympics Connecticut Summer Games. With de Regt are physical therapists (l-r): Tamara Petrazzi, Kristen Hull and Avani Patel; and physical therapist assistant Michell Wallace
It’s hard to tell who enjoys the Special Olympics more – the athletes, their families or the volunteers.
“I just have so much fun,” said Bridgeport Hospital physical therapist Paul de Regt, who joined 250 other Yale New Haven Health employee volunteers at the Special Olympics Connecticut Summer Games June 7 and 8.
“I’m not one to sit on the sidelines,” said Maryann Gambardella, a YNHHS billing coordinator who likes to celebrate with the athletes as they finish their events. “I’m a hugger.”
This was the fourth year YNHHS has sponsored the Summer Games and offered employees the opportunity to volunteer. Yale New Haven Hospital’s Center for Injury Prevention educated Special Olympics coaches on basic first aid and provided first-aid kits for the event.
Though best known for its winter and summer games, Special Olympics Connecticut also provides year-round sports training, health screenings, education and resources on healthy lifestyles.
“Special Olympics is closely aligned with our health system’s vision, mission and values, which emphasize enhancing people’s lives and serving our communities,” said Paul Mounds Jr., vice president, Community, Corporate and Government Relations, YNHHS. “Our employees share those values, which is one reason the number of Special Olympics volunteers from the health system grows every year.”
Another reason, Mounds said, is that volunteers tell their coworkers how much they enjoy it.
De Regt has volunteered at two summer games and one winter games, initially getting involved through the American Physical Therapy Association. In June, he and other YNHHS employees conducted flexibility and coordination testing in the Healthy Athletes tent. It was the perfect assignment for de Regt, whose day job includes providing physical therapy through a contract with Bridgeport Hospital to Bridgeport Public Schools students with special needs and mobility impairments.
“I love working with this population,” de Regt said. “I appreciate the opportunity to give back, to work with them in a way they find to be helpful and valuable.”
Gambardella began volunteering at the games four years ago with her husband, Donald Warner, and son, Jake Warner. The family has volunteered with different organizations since Jake was little; he’s now 21.
“I’ve always tried to raise my son to realize how blessed we are and to pay it forward,” she said.
Gambardella and her family volunteer at the Special Olympics track and field events each year and have gotten to know some of the athletes and their families. The experience never gets old, she said.
“It fills your heart.”
