Hebrew Health Care volunteer wins annual award

West Hartford, CT- At the LeadingAge CT Annual Meeting, Sandra Rulnick was honored with The Volunteer of the Year Award.  This award was "presented to a volunteer from a LeadingAge CT organization who exemplifies the spirit of our not-for-profit mission." 

Sandy Rulnick has been involved at Hebrew Health Care for more than 20 years as volunteer, Auxiliary President, Board Member and Corporator. She even represented Hebrew Health Care's Auxiliary in 1999 at the national association of auxiliaries, Partners in Senior Life.   In 2009, Sandy suggested a new and more personal involvement. Since her family had used many of HHC's services, she recognized the challenges that families new to elder care services face; and she hoped to bridge the gap, making the transition easier for them. She established HHC's Ambassador Program to do just that.

HHC's Ambassador Program begins with an extensive tour of HHC's West Hartford campus. But Sandy's involvement with families doesn't end there. She works with families to help them become acclimated to services and resources during their transition into our long term stay care system. She establishes a relationship with families so that they are comfortable with her and with the HHC community; and she maintains that relationship for as long as they wish.

Sandy offers tours seven days per week – she comes in days, evenings and weekends to make it most convenient for new families to see all that HHC has to offer. Since she is a volunteer, her business cards have her home and cell phone numbers on them, making her accessible to families at any time before or after an admission. For Sandy, knowing that families have a familiar face to turn to with questions or concerns is crucial to successfully placing their loved one in HHC's care.

Hebrew Health Care is truly grateful to Sandy. Her humanity, kindness and warmth set the stage for families experiencing Hebrew Health Care for the first time; and her knowledge of our services and systems set new families at ease during a very stressful time. She has improved and personalized our admissions process, helping dozens of families since she first said, "I had an idea about helping new families…"