‘She’s very welcoming to everyone’

Janice Savidis of Libertyville was recently honored as the Outstanding Volunteer for 2011 by Advocate Condell Medical Center. Savidis has been a volunteer at the hospital since 1967 and has given more than 12,964 hours of service. Photo by John Roszkowski

Updated: June 11, 2012 8:17AM

In her 45 years as a volunteer at Advocate Condell Medical Center, Janice Savidis has provided immeasurable help to hospital staff and much-needed support to patients.

“I thoroughly enjoy doing this. People let you know you’re appreciated,” said Savidis, 91, of Libertyville.

Because of Savidis’ years of dedicated service to the hospital, she was recently recognized as Condell’s Outstanding Volunteer of the Year for 2011.

Savidis started out as a volunteer at Condell in 1967 and worked for one year in a small gift shop. She decided she wanted more patient interaction and was moved over to the dietary area, where she worked for the next six years, picking up patient menus from rooms and delivering them to the cafeteria.

For the next 35 years, she worked in the hospital’s emergency department, helping staff with daily chores, comforting patients, baby sitting for new mothers and filling out paperwork. About three years ago, she moved over the third-floor surgical lounge where she helps to register family members who are waiting for loved ones in surgery.

‘Absolutely floored’

Savidis has logged about 13,000 hours of volunteer service for the hospital. She was honored at the hospital’s Volunteer Awards & Recognition ceremony on April 20, where she received a clock with her name engraved in it.

“I was absolutely floored because I certainly never expected anything like that,” she said.

Janet Miesbauer, manager of volunteers, auxiliary and retail services at Advocate Condell, said the countless hours and contributions of hospital volunteers like Savidis are difficult to measure.

“She has an extreme amount of dedication to us,” said Miesbauer. “She’s a person you can always count on­.

“Her work and her caring for patients and families over the years has been remarkable,” she added. “She’s very welcoming to everyone.”

Savidis now works at the hospital one day a week. A few years ago she thought about retiring but staff at the hospital convinced her to stay on as a volunteer on a more limited basis.

Said Savidis, “I’m glad they didn’t let me retire because I don’t know what I’d do if I wasn’t here at least part of the time.”

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