The Yellow Standard

A Community of Hospital Volunteers Going Above and Beyond

Spend any time around Baxter Health, just a minute or two actually, and you will understand what the Yellow Army is all about. So named for their yellow uniform shirts, the Army is the hospital’s decorated corps of volunteers, and they’re everywhere you look. Need a shuttle from the parking lot? A cheerful volunteer is happy to oblige. Need directions to your appointment? A smiling member of the Army leads the way.

Individually, these interactions make a great impression on patients and their families. Collectively, however, the Army is just that, a formidable group of personnel motivated to make the hospital run better. And they take no small measure of pride in doing so.

“The volunteers make such an impression on the community, especially when they come to the hospital,” said Carolyn Rice, who’s been a volunteer here for the past five years. “They know that you’re a volunteer at the hospital because you’re wearing yellow. In fact, even when we go to conventions, they say, ’We know you’re from Baxter Health because you have the yellow shirts on.’”

"“I know the administration recognizes how vital we are because there’s not enough staff to do what the volunteers help with,” said Jennifer Baker, who’s worn the yellow for six years. “Baxter Health really relies on those volunteers to help people. There’s not enough money to pay enough staff to do all the things that we volunteers do.”

As well-known as the Yellow Army is among locals, many don’t know how far the group’s reputation reaches or the lofty place it holds among other hospital auxiliaries statewide. Baxter Health’s auxiliary ranks second among peer organizations in Arkansas as far as donations generated and the largest in terms of headcount, despite the hospital and Mountain Home community being several multiples smaller than other healthcare facilities in other cities.

“We were talking at a Bible study recently, and people asked me, ’Judy, I remember when the hospital was small. It has done so much for this community, and that’s wonderful. But how can you do this?’” said Judy Shaffer, who’s volunteered for 17 years and counting. “I just told them our volunteers are amazing. We just give and give, and we enjoy doing it. The hospital is so important to this community and to us, especially.”

That kind of marrow-deep commitment is the only thing to explain the continuing success of the Yellow Army — and why volunteers like Baker and Shaffer are given the rock star treatment at meetings of the Arkansas Hospital Auxiliary Association Board. The AHAA is a statewide organization made up of hospital auxiliaries, all of whom are looking to replicate the Baxter group’s success.

“My main goal is to mentor volunteers and bring in new volunteers who will serve in leadership roles,” said Shaffer who sits on the Yellow Army’s Ways and Means Committee and is currently president of AHAA. “It’s very hard to get people to take leadership roles on the local level, the state level and the district level. My goal is to develop a good mentoring program that we can use however we want for our hospital, but also as a basis for all hospitals to use.”

When asked by peers, Baker also notes the importance of excellent staff leadership in maintaining a robust volunteer program. “One of the reasons I’m very committed to Baxter is I think the world of (Director of Volunteer Services) Becky Rose,” said Baker who sits on the local group’s board of directors and is currently secretary of AHAA. “I don’t think our volunteer organization would be what it is today if we didn’t have Becky’s leadership and support. She’s so humble that it’s hard for her to accept any kind of compliment, but really, your organization is only as good as the top echelon.”

Between the mentoring, the staff leadership and the tradition of service honed through many years, the Yellow Army routinely pulls off remarkable things. In 2022 alone, 464 volunteers worked nearly 65,000 hours, most of it done just two or three hours a week. What’s more, the auxiliary donated more than $550,000 for hospital needs from money raised through its Bargain Box Thrift Shops, Pink-A-Dilly Gift Shop and other fundraisers. It’s the kind of success story most hospital auxiliaries can only dream about, especially in the lingering aftermath of COVID.

“At this point in time, many of the hospitals are struggling because of COVID, and they haven’t got their full strength of volunteers back,” Shaffer said. “Baxter Health was among the first, actually, to reopen our gift shop and bring back volunteers in 2020. We closed in mid-March and opened back up in the latter part of June. We were limited on how many people could come in, but we were open. “That’s proven to be a very fortunate thing because many of the other hospitals are still not having their volunteers work in the hospital. Their organization is still going on, but they haven’t let them come in and do their volunteer jobs.”

As participant numbers continue to grow and donations continue to roll in, there’s a lot for the Yellow Army to look upon with pride. But as any one of them will tell you, the true payoff volunteers receive is the satisfaction in knowing they’re helping people on what is often the most stressful day of their life or in the life of their family. “When you help people, you meet amazing people,” said Rice, who’s treasurer of the local group. “You see situations, and you are able to help. You help the staff whenever they need it. And it doesn’t make any difference who you are or what you are, there’s someplace at the hospital where you can help those around you. We have volunteers who are in wheelchairs or use canes, and we find a place for them to work where they are comfortable. “And in return, we get so much respect from the administration and the foundation, the nurses and the doctors and in the community, too. I went to the doctor’s office for an appointment, and it just happened to be the day that I was in my yellow. People said, ’Oh, you volunteer for the hospital. Thank you so much.’ That made me feel like a very special person.”