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Non-medical volunteers seemingly appeared
from thin air at just the right time. Wilbraham,
Massachusetts mother of three and Junior Women’s
Club officer, Jen Nowak offered assistance with
back office operations. With great generosity and
skill, Nowak coordinated the processing of letters
and donations that arrived daily by the sack full.
Sandy Gilbertie, Anise Traynor, Jenny Kinder and
Sarah Lloyd, also of Wilbraham, and Beth Catarino
of Ludlow worked tirelessly carving order out of the
chaos of postal communications.
Since her first trip to Milot in 2008, Deb Paine-Motyl,
R.N. worked as Medical Volunteer Coordinator,
handling all the credentials, insurance and airport
pick-ups for the 270 volunteers who visited Hôpital
Sacré Coeur each year. Overnight, Paine-Motyl’s
volunteer position morphed into the equivalency
of nearly two full time jobs. Undaunted, with
her employer Radius Management’s blessings,
she continued with the volunteer processing and
assisted in supplies coordination, took time off work
and traveled to Milot on January 28 to manage
the deluge of inventory. Denise Kelly and board
members Deb O’Hara-Rusckowski, R.N.
and Julie
Condon dove in and screened thousands of inquiries
from potential volunteers and for months on end
recruited nurses to fill the 50 plus weekly positions
that were needed. Deb O’Hara Rusckowski made
numerous visits to Milot setting up nursing protocols
and caring for patients.
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