Navjot Kauer, RN, left, and Wendy Chow with patient Mohammed Choudhury.
On a recent Friday afternoon, patient Mohammed Choudhury was delighted to see Navjot Kaur, RN, and Wendy Chow, a recent nursing school graduate and volunteer in the Care and Respect for Everyone (CARE) program, walk into his room on the sixth floor of the Klingenstein Clinical Center. CARE is a Mount Sinai volunteer program that helps promote mobility and physical activity in patients to improve patient outcomes.
The two assisted Mr. Choudhury as he walked down the corridor, making certain he did not lose his balance.
Before becoming a Mount Sinai clinical unit nurse, Ms. Kaur had been a CARE volunteer when she was a nursing student, and she was wearing an “I’m a proud CARE Volunteer Alum!” button on her uniform.
Today, she is one of several CARE alumni who mentor nursing students or recent graduates interested in becoming a CARE volunteer, an effort that not only enhances the overall program for patients but strengthens the pathway for these volunteers to become Mount Sinai staff.
Ms. Kaur says CARE has helped her form stronger bonds with patients. “Talking to people and providing comfort is very important,” she says. “Some people don’t have visitors, so this also helps change their mood.”
Established in 2012 in the Emergency Department, the CARE program now has more than 100 volunteers throughout The Mount Sinai Hospital.
“They do an excellent job,” Mr. Choudhury said after his walk.