Volunteer feels like ‘very important person’
“When I graduated from Baytown Sterling High School in 1977, I had no idea what I was going to do. I’m just so thankful that a doctor who was a neighbor came to my door and said, ‘They’re hiring at San Jacinto Hospital. You ought to go apply.’ So I did, and I got the job. I began working here in receiving. I did that for 40 years. That’s a long time. But I really enjoyed it. People that I delivered things to got to know me, and we became very good friends. That makes a big difference, especially in a hospital setting.
“You need to be good at what you’re doing. You need to be quick. You have to understand that these people need their supplies as fast as possible. I got to know pretty much every square inch around here. And I never got lost. It was good exercise, too. I would do maybe 20,000 steps a day. When I turned 60, I said to myself, ‘You know, it’s time.’ So I decided on a date, and I retired. I took a week’s cruise in the Caribbean, then came back here as a volunteer. I’ve been doing it for two years now, three days a week. I answer the phone, give directions, deliver flowers … pretty much whatever is needed.
“Just about everybody knows me, unless they’re new. And even many of the newer people get to know me. Sometimes I work near the Cath Lab. There is a person who handles newcomers, and she takes them on a tour of the hospital. She stops at the desk and says, ‘Everybody, I have somebody I want you to meet. This is Roger. He’s been here 40 years.’ The first time, I said to myself, ‘That’s pretty cool.’ And she does this every time. It makes me feel really good, like a very important person.
“I’m very thankful for this hospital. I started working here when I was 20, and I’m now 62. No matter my role, I’ve always tried to do my very best. And I was just thinking the other day that I ought to work here 50 years total. If I do, I’ll be 70 years old when I hit 10 years volunteering. I think it can be done. That’s my goal.”
— Roger Roosa
Roger, who has been challenged with vision and hearing issues for much of his life, walks back and forth to Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital (formerly San Jacinto Hospital) every day.
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