Al Kubala of Denver says he’s, “grateful for the opportunity to volunteer.” The staff and fellow volunteers at Rose Medical Center are grateful for Al who shows up at the hospital five days a week, 12 hours a day, to do any task the staff asks of him. “He is so committed to our patients, our employees, our volunteers and to the community,” says Isi McCarthy, Chief Operations Officer at Rose. Al is 83 years old, but age has not slowed him down. He does everything from making copies to escorting patients at an unbelievable speed.
“Well I have to so I can get on to the next job. They’ve managed to keep me occupied and I’m grateful for it,” Al says.
Beyond his rounds of helping out in every hospital department, Al has taken initiative and created successful programs at Rose. “He decided he would give our employees an opportunity to volunteer, and he’s done this through the monthly food drive,“ McCarthy says. “Every month, he goes out and promotes the food drive. He publishes fliers and puts them throughout the organization to remind staff that the drive is coming up.” Al then takes the food to Volunteers of America. He also created the “volunteer spotlight.” Al takes a volunteer’s photo and writes up information on that person. “He posts that with other activities that are going on in the volunteer department,” McCarthy says.
Why is Al so committed to Rose? He gives two reasons. He says he loves the support he gets from Rose, and he says this is a way he can pay back. “I have an adequate retirement, and this is my way of earning my retirement. Otherwise you take, and if you don’t give something back, you have a guilt complex.”
“He’s really an inspiration for me, and I think for everyone. He’s what I’d like to be when I grow up, McCarthy says.
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