But Echuca Regional Health could not run without them.
Here is the story of an ERH volunteer.
VIDEO: Val Cook shares her story
WHEN Val Cook talks about the Glanville Village residents, her eyes immediately begin to twinkle.
Because to her, they’re so much more than just clients.
Each and every one is family.
“Having lost my parents, they're mums and dads,’’ she said.
‘‘And that’s how I treat them.’’
Originally a volunteer at the hospital coffee shop, Val knew her true passion was to work with the aged – a desire which, eventually, brought her to Glanville.
“I just wanted to be with the elderly,” she said.
“Sometimes I think they’re the forgotten people. Not intentionally, but they can be forgotten.”
A regular fixture around the Glanville halls, Val can be found doing anything and everything.
She reads the newspaper to residents, helps with exercise sessions, runs pamper days and walking outings, is a self-professed bingo aficionado and – most notably – a nail-painting expert.“I’ll often make up colours for the residents,” she said.
“There was a chap in here and I used to paint his nails in the Aboriginal colours.
“We have fun. That’s the whole idea.”
And when it comes to helping out, Val says it’s a two-way street.
“I help them, but they also help me,” she said.
“I like to get to know each resident individually. I do a lot of one-on-ones and will listen to them for an hour or so because sometimes they don’t have anybody to talk to.”
Through the love and care she shows, Val has seen her fair share of transformations.
“I feed a resident Minnie and when I first started feeding her she didn’t say much at all,” she reflected.
“Now she seems to look forward to me feeding her – I’ll often have music on in the background and we’ll sing. She’s even started stringing words together.”
Sadly, Val has also had to say a lot of goodbyes.
“When they first started passing away it was really difficult for me. And it still is,” she said.
“I try to do it differently now but it’s still difficult, I miss them every day.”
But looking back, she wouldn’t change a thing.
“I’m quite proud of the fact I help the residents,” she said.
“I make them smile every day and that’s what it's all about.”