YNHHS will celebrate National Volunteer Week April 19 - 25. Overseeing the health system’s more than 2,200 volunteers are (l-r): Myla Tsapar, volunteer services manager, Yale New Haven Hospital; Shelly Warrender, volunteer services program manager, Lawrence + Memorial and Westerly hospitals; Stacey Green, director of Volunteer Services, YNHHS; and Elizabeth Locke, manager of Volunteer and Guest Services, Bridgeport Hospital.
The theme for 2026 National Volunteer Week – “Making a Difference, Every Day” – is not just a tagline; it’s the daily goal for all Yale New Haven Health volunteers, according to Stacey Green, system director, Volunteer Services, YNHHS.
In 2025, more than 2,200 YNHHS volunteers, from high school students to seniors, served 175,000 hours in more than 300 assignments, in locations from Greenwich Hospital to Westerly Hospital – and everywhere in between.
“The focus on providing an exceptional experience for our patients and their families informs the work of our volunteer departments,” Green said. “Our ability to create additional resources for patients, families and staff has been embedded in the fabric of our volunteer departments’ operations for decades.”
Green noted that volunteer roles have changed significantly since they entered the healthcare industry. In the early 19th century, volunteers’ basic duties included wrapping bandages and delivering juice to patients.
“Now volunteers give time in hundreds of areas across Yale New Haven Health System,” Green said. “Their impact is extraordinary.”
Since 2018, when Patient Experience became a health system division, volunteer program leaders from all delivery networks have collaborated on a combined effort that benefits the entire system. They examined the volunteer programs and created a strategic plan to replicate best practices across YNHHS.
Successful programs include Healing Touch, Oasis for Healing, Pet Therapy, Patient Transport, Patient Aides, Kindness Carts and the Parent and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs), all of which are aligned with various patient experience initiatives.
“Every chance we have to add a layer of support to existing programs and services overseen by employees is a win-win for our patients and families,” Green said. “Our volunteers indeed make a difference, every day.”
All delivery networks will mark National Volunteer Week April 19 - 25.
“National Volunteer Week provides an opportunity to shine a light on their gifts of service and compassion,” said Green. “Please remember to thank our volunteers for all that they do.”
