HARLINGEN — Diana Young is a strong believer in the “human touch.”
The retired school counselor has been volunteering at Harlingen Medical Center for a little more than a year.
During that time, she has seen how spending time with patients makes a big difference in their lives.
“I encourage anyone who wants to volunteer to come and make that one-to-one connection here. It really makes a difference to the patient, just to let them know that they matter,” said Diana, lead volunteer.
“I do believe we need that human contact, that human socialization, that human touch.”
Diana retired three and a half years ago after 36 years in education.
The Harlingen native worked for the Mercedes school district and finished her career at Harlingen High School South as a guidance counselor and then, for the last five years, as department head for counseling.
After retiring, she turned her attention to volunteering.
“I have several reasons for that,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to give back to my community — just because so many people have helped me throughout my life and my career that I wanted to pay it forward.
“That was something that was important to me.”
Another reason is that she likes “having meaning and purpose in life.”
“When I see the patients and they smile because I come in, even if it’s just for a moment, that means they’ve forgotten their illness or why they’re there. And it’s all worth it,” she said.
Her most recent assignment is working with the hospital’s hospitality department.
She takes a floral arrangement, a welcome note and the day’s newspaper to new patients.
And she visits with them.
“I ask them how they are doing, if they need anything and that we’re here to help them,” Diana said.
Over the course of the past year, several patients have stood out. One was a woman who said she didn’t have any family to turn to. Apparently, there have been others in the same situation.
“They will volunteer information. They will tell me they don’t have family here, that they’re here on their own,” she said.
“So, I will try to stay there a little longer with them and visit with them and just make them feel at home and comfortable there at the hospital.”
Another patient stands out — “a gentleman.”
“It’s really amazing, but the gentleman just all of a sudden spurts out, ‘I don’t have that much time to live,’” she said.
“It’s like, what do you do? I was just shocked, and I’m standing there listening to him.”
What she did was to assure him that he would have someone to talk to.
“I could tell in his face, he didn’t have anyone; he didn’t know who to talk to. The way that he told me, I sensed that from him,” she said.
“So, I offered him some assistance. I did visit with him. I told him we could get someone he could talk to. And I did. The chaplain went in and visited with him.”
She feels she helped to ease his mind.
Diana believes her background as a counselor has helped her in her volunteer work.
“People tell me that I’m a very good listener and I’m very patient with people. And I’m very honest with people, as well,” she said. “So, yes, I do believe it has helped.”
Diana has led a couple of orientation sessions for the young adult volunteers and retirees. For the youths, she believes it is important for them to see the compassion that is displayed at the hospital.
“I say that because I see that all the communication is being lost. I look around and I see people with their noses in their cell phones,” she said.
She adds with a chuckle, “I’m included in that. But I’m trying to do better.”
