Then and Now: Rita M.

North Oaks Health System values our volunteers.

Rita M. began volunteering with North Oaks Health System as a candy striper through after-school and summer programs in 1967 when she was 14 years old. Inspired by her older sister Barbara, who worked for North Oaks Medical Center as a CNA and later an RN, Rita assisted nurses in the Medicine Unit with patient care, running errands, and other tasks. After two years of volunteer work, she began working at Vineyard Pharmacy in Ponchatoula through Ponchatoula High School’s Distributive Education (D.E.) program.

Rita returned to volunteer work at North Oaks in 2017 after retiring from a 20-year career as an Interpretive Ranger at Fontainebleau State Park. She now works as a volunteer, tackling everything from rounding up wheelchairs and transporting patients to rolling T-shirts and counting nametags. She was named Volunteer of the Year in 2021.

“I retired and decided to serve others as much as I could for as long as I could,” she explains. “I’m caring for people, and I get my steps in. I get to see people and interact with people. It gets me out of my recliner.”

While the size of the building and number of staff has grown significantly since Rita’s first experiences as a volunteer, her reasons for volunteering have stayed the same—she enjoys being helpful to others.

“It gives you a meaningful thing to do,” she notes. “It feels good to give to others. It feels good to share.”

Interested in volunteering at North Oaks? Please call ext. 6811 or click here for an application.