February 2018 Volunteer Spotlight: Cathy and Gordon Harper

Meet Cathy and Gordon Harper, two valuable volunteers with Campbell County Health in Gillette, Wyoming!

Gordon and Cathy Harper shared in their ministry for many years at The Vineyard in Gillette, and neither one was ready to stop helping others when they retired.

Cathy had been a Gift Shoppe volunteer and helped with the Festival of Trees for several years before medical issues forced her to take a break. Now she volunteers at least weekly at the Campbell County Memorial Hospital Information Desk, doing what she loves best—being around people and helping them find their way.

Sometimes people just want some reassurance that they’re headed in the right direction to their hospital destination, but other times they really need her help. Cathy remembers helping a man who walked his bicycle to the hospital and found out he really needed to go to the Stocktrail Building for physical therapy. She knew he wouldn’t be able to get there without help, so she enlisted Security to help out and transport him there. Cathy has given 600 hours to date, and doesn’t have any plans to stop coming to CCH.

Gordon began the volunteer chaplain program with Pastor Bob Rudichar in 1994, coordinating volunteer clergy to round on patients and be on call for emergencies. When he spends time with families in an emergency or at the end of life Gordon calls the experience the “power of presence,” because the simple act of being there can change the tone and atmosphere of the situation. Not only is it important to spend time with patients and families, but nurses and doctors are affected, too.

Gordon says it can be very hard for physicians to tell family members that their loved one has died. In his almost 25 years of hospital chaplaincy, Gordon has volunteered 7,000 hours to help people at the most difficult time in their lives.

Like Cathy, he plans to continue volunteering as long as he’s able, saying that he is humbled that he’s been allowed to do this work. Gordon also volunteers for the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) program, and CCH HEART team, Campbell County Sheriff’s Office, Moorcroft Fire Department and helped start a chaplaincy program for the Wyoming Highway Patrol nearly two years ago. Fellow Pastors in town jokingly call him the “chaplain of everything.”

Cathy and Gordon embody the spirit of volunteerism—giving their time for the opportunity to help others. Thank you, Cathy and Gordon, for everything you do for our patients.

If you're interested in learning more about volunteering with CCH, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Chris Buxton at 307-688-1536 or visit www.cchwyo.org/volunteer.