Brooklyn, NY, June 26, 2024 — Maimonides Health hosted its Annual Volunteer Recognition Ceremony and Luncheon at the New Ballroom in Borough Park, celebrating the contributions of the organization’s dedicated volunteers who support patients, families, and clinical teams, furthering the hospital’s mission to provide high-quality patient care to the community.
Home to one of the largest volunteer departments in New York City, Maimonides recognized the nearly 1,600 volunteers who contributed 200,000 hours of service last year. Close to 300 current volunteers attended the luncheon, along with leaders from some of the 150 community, school, and city organizations from across Brooklyn and the tristate area that partner with Maimonides’ Volunteer Department.
“It’s a privilege to celebrate the contributions our volunteers make to our hospital and our community,” said Ken Gibbs, President and CEO of Maimonides Health. “All of the Maimonides staff who work with our volunteers have great respect and appreciation for their presence, patient advocacy, and the incredible commitment they have made to their neighbors.”
Maimonides leaders gave a special recognition to volunteer Mordechai Meisels, who began volunteering in 2017, bringing supper and Sabbath meals to patients, and currently serves as a Patient Relations volunteer, offering emotional support and companionship to patients in the hospital and serving as a liaison between patients, families, and staff. At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, he continued to volunteer, tending to roughly 30 patients a day. To date, he has contributed over 2,200 hours of service to Maimonides.
“What an honor it is to celebrate the volunteer community of Maimonides,” said Erminia Rivera, Vice Chair of the Maimonides Board of Trustees. “We are really a diverse group here, but we have so many things in common – we care about people, we care about community, and we care about making the world a better place. It is my privilege to recognize and honor this incredible work.”
Rivera also received special recognition for her and her family’s longstanding dedication to Maimonides Health. Rivera is also the namesake of the Erminia Rivera Breast Imaging Center of Excellence, Brooklyn’s only fully accredited comprehensive breast center.
Maimonides volunteers serve in a variety of roles in the hospital, from offering companionship and meal assistance to patients and serving as doulas in the childbirth process, to operating refreshment carts and cuddling infants in the NICU to support their development, and so much more. Our diverse volunteer population spans ages 14 to 90, and speak more than 45 languages in all. Many of these volunteers live, work, or attend school in the nearby neighborhoods of Borough Park, Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, and Flatbush.
To view photos of the event, click here. To download photos, use PIN 5348.
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Maimonides Health is Brooklyn’s largest healthcare system, serving over 320,000 patients each year through the system’s 3 hospitals, 1,800+ physicians and more than 80 community-based practices and outpatient centers. The system is anchored by Maimonides Medical Center, one of the nation’s largest independent teaching hospitals and home to centers of excellence in numerous specialties and Maimonides Midwood Community Hospital (formerly New York Community Hospital), a 130-bed adult medical-surgical hospital; and Maimonides Children’s Hospital, Brooklyn’s only children’s hospital and only pediatric trauma center.
Maimonides’ clinical programs rank among the best in the country for patient outcomes, including its Heart and Vascular Institute, Neurosciences Institute, Bone and Joint Center, and Cancer Center. Maimonides is an affiliate of Northwell Health and a major clinical training site for SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. For additional information, please visit www.maimo.org and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.