Airing Volunteer Services' (Clean) Laundry!

Not to mince words, but CRMH's Clothes Closet looked like a cyclone had hit it! Staffing shortages have touched Volunteer Services, too, and the department didn't have a volunteer regularly keeping the Closet organized.

Guest Services Representative Tina Belcher to the rescue. For a few hours this week, Tina transformed the widely used Closet into a display worthy of any retail store. Tina unboxed hundreds of new and donated tops and arranged them with color-coded precision. By tightly rolling the tops, she was able to create more shelf space to accommodate tops that were still in boxes. That cleared up a lot of floor space, making the closet easier to navigate.

"I just enjoy doing stuff like that," said Tina, who joined Carilion nearly two years ago. "I like doing it because I know someone is going to benefit--our patients." Tina added that tidying up the closet also will make it easier for the nurses who use it daily to retrieve clothing for their patients to wear home.

The Clothes Closet, which was established in 2016, has distributed more than 4,000 clothing items. To meet Carilion's infection control standards, all clothes in the closet must be new or freshly washed by Carilion laundry.

Tina's work was so impressive that a colleague jokingly asked if she would come to her house.

"I love my job," she said, adding wryly, "I hope everyone helps us keep it neat."