Photo by Sarah Owens
Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital offers volunteer opportunities to college students and adults form around the Birmingham-metro area.
As Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital begins a new chapter under Orlando Health, the changes aren’t just behind the scenes — the hospital is calling for more volunteers to bring fresh energy to its halls.
Brookwood already has a strong volunteer team made up of adults and college students, but leaders say they’re looking to expand the adult roster to ensure full support across departments.
Volunteers assist patients, staff and visitors throughout the hospital — greeting guests at the information desk, giving directions, delivering mail, managing the gift shop and more.
“I have the most fun job of any of the volunteers. I’m just going to tell you that right out,” said Andy Bernstein, a Mountain Brook resident. “I, for 19 years, have been volunteering in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and I am certified in infant massage.”
Photo by Sarah Owens
Andy Bernstein has volunteered at the hospital for 19 years.
Bernstein, a former nurse, first joined the program after a hospital neonatologist called and asked if she could help. At the time, the NICU couldn’t afford to keep its occupational therapist for extra days. She’s been volunteering ever since — providing massages to infants with drug dependency or other medical challenges.
“If you have a baby that is in withdrawal and crying non stop, to have somebody come in and hold them and massage them — and I can calm them and put them back to sleep — I think that’s a big help for the nurses in particular, and for the baby,” Bernstein said.
She often steps in as an extra pair of hands for busy nurses, especially on weekends. Beyond providing comfort, her massages serve a therapeutic function as well.
“When we have chronic babies, not the tiny babies, because we have to limit their stimulation, but chronic babies can get contractures, and when we are massaging, we’re gently straightening, straightening the limbs … the occupational therapist might leave a note for me, baby so and so needs some special attention if you have time.”
While she loves caring for the infants, Bernstein also finds joy in working alongside the NICU nurses — praising their skill, commitment and compassion. Her volunteer work doesn’t just help hospital staff and patients though, it helps her too.
“I love volunteering here,” she said. “If you’re having a bad day and you come in and you get to help somebody, particularly hold a baby. What is more wonderful in this whole world than a newborn, innocent life, if you get to hold this sweet newborn and love on it, and talk to it, sing to it. For me, it is mood elevating. It is better than anything else. I can just tell you, it just soothes my heart.”
One moment in particular still stands out for her — a reminder of the difference volunteers can make.
“We had a baby one time that was long term and chronic … feeding tube and, you know, IVs and oxygen. And I would see him consistently over five months. And I think the day that he got to go home, I wept that we had been able to help him and his family to the point that he actually graduated from the NICU.”
Not all volunteers work with infants though, as support is needed all across the hospital. Volunteers are often the first faces you see when entering the building, helping patients find their way to appointments or providing a listening ear for those going through a tough time.
To learn more about volunteering at Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital, visit baptisthealthal.com/about-us/volunteer.
