Long-term labor of love

Some of Boulder City’s finest, but often most under-appreciated citizens, are the long-term care residents at Boulder City Hospital.

However, hospital Activities Director Salome Jarvis and her team of volunteers work overtime to ensure that our long-term hospital residents are as conspicuous and involved in community life as possible.

With few exceptions, Salome and her volunteers have orchestrated an excursion every Tuesday for the last 32-plus years so that our hospital residents can enjoy weekly time out on the town. That’s an astounding 1,500 field trips during Salome’s tenure at the hospital.

Sometimes they visit attractions like the Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef Aquarium or the Bellagio’s Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Other outings are more casual, such as pizza and a movie or bowling at one of the casinos. This month they’re headed to a live nativity, followed by the Olive Garden for dinner. Last year Salome and the hospital residents frequented recreation league mens’ basketball games to support the BC Hospital squad and were among the best and most boisterous fans in town. Spending time with Ozzie the Giraffe at the Lion Habitat Ranch in Henderson was also a favorite pastime when that long-neck was still alive. And if there’s any museum in the greater Las Vegas area worth its salt, it’s a safe bet that Salome and her long-term posse have toured there as well.

Fridays are big days for the long-term residents, too. That’s when Salome urges the family members and friends of our long-termers to visit the hospital and have lunch with them. It’s a fun time for all with lively entertainment and a “happy hour.” In fact, the festive long-term care Christmas party is next Friday’s activity.

Of course, any time the residents are socializing, Salome wants them to look and feel their best. So, each year she and her volunteer team solicit $10 or $20 per resident from supporters like the Elks Lodge and Grace Community Church. Then they use those funds to go shopping and ensure that each resident has a nice outfit to wear in public.

Fundraisers like yard sales and raffles help pay for activities as well. Salome also makes sure to include the names of needy residents and their wish lists on the Angel Tree at Boulder Dam Credit Union each holiday season. Generous community members sign up to grant those wishes by donating clothing, gift cards, food, and other presents to children and seniors, including those residing at the hospital, Quail Ridge Manor, Lend-A-Hand, and Mountain View Care Center.

Another unique way that Salome and her volunteers enlist help for our long-term care residents is by having community members adopt a resident for Christmas. Staff members in Dr. Smith’s office, for instance, regularly adopt a half-dozen or more residents and purchase gift baskets filled with meaningful things that Salome knows the residents love.

Salome is clearly the engine that makes this well-oiled machine of love and care keep chugging along. But engines are useless without an ample fuel supply, and that’s where the dozens of hospital volunteers play critical roles.

Some volunteers are older; others much younger. Anyone age 13 or older can volunteer to help. In fact, junior high and high school students participating in the National Junior Honor Society provide a steady source of hospital volunteers. At least four volunteers have been helping Salome for over a decade since they became teens. Brittany is now a medical school student at Touro University; Mylee is in nursing school; Katrina is now a nurse; and Taylor is studying to become a speech pathologist.

It seems that heartfelt service and loving kindness beget more of the same, so it’s probably not too surprising that these young ladies are now pursuing service-oriented, health and wellness careers of their own. But what’s profoundly remarkable is that each of them still volunteers at the hospital despite their busy schedules. Salome may or may not have been their inspiration. But she definitely encourages her volunteers to keep marching forward in their caregiving careers and labors of love.

Other common sources of hospital volunteers include hospital employees and family members of former long-term care residents who were obviously touched by the volunteer service previously rendered to their aging or ailing relatives. But really, anyone is welcome and encouraged to join the hospital’s volunteer force. In fact, at least one woman has been faithfully volunteering at the hospital throughout Salome’s entire three decades of service there.

The Covid-19 pandemic cut Salome’s hospital volunteer battalion down to less than half of its previous size. But now, after much persistence, she’s built her troops back up again to approximately 50 volunteers. And one month ago, Salome was finally able to reinstitute her annual dinner honoring the hospital volunteers after being forced to abandon that special recognition event in the wake of Covid.

The army of hospital volunteers is truly an amazing sight to behold. So, what can you and I do to join or help? First and foremost, each of us can volunteer with the legions of others to spend precious time with Boulder City’s long-term care residents. We can also adopt one or more residents for Christmas, lend financial support even a few dollars at a time, or donate yard sale and raffle items to Salome and her team. I can assure you that anything you give will come back to you a hundred-fold in the form of gratitude from recipients and their families and bountiful blessings from heaven above.