Volunteer Receives the Marguerite Nerge Heart Award

DELAND, Fla., May 1, 2017 Florida Hospital DeLand has selected volunteer Nancy Land as Aprils recipient of the Marguerite Nerge Heart Award.

Land has volunteered at Florida Hospital DeLand for six years and serves as the chairman of the volunteers in the intensive care unit (ICU) and surgical services waiting room. As chairman, she oversees volunteer staffing in this critical area, assisting visitors and patients at the information desk.

Nancy took it upon herself to help a visually impaired woman, a colleague wrote in a nomination for Land. The bus needed a 24-hour notice to pick up riders. The patient did not know when she might be released from the hospital, so this was not an option. Nancy and her husband came back the next day and took both ladies home. I would say this was above and beyond what she was expected to do. I am very proud to be her coworker.

Shawn Pope, Florida Hospital DeLand volunteer coordinator, said Land has been a tremendous help and appreciates her constant support.

Nancy has done an amazing job with her department and keeps it running smoothly, Pope said. The volunteers are a friendly and helpful face for folks waiting on loved ones undergoing surgery or in the ICU.

Named in memory of Marguerite Nerge, a dedicated Florida Hospital DeLand auxilian who passed away in 2016, the Heart Award recognizes hospital volunteers each month that go above and beyond in their service.

Nerge moved to DeLand in 1979 and began volunteering at Florida Hospital DeLand in 1982, the same year Michael Jacksons Thriller was released and the Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World opened to the public. Thirty years later, Nerge was still volunteering at Florida Hospital DeLand, even celebrating her 90th birthday by greeting patients and visitors at the Florida Hospital DeLand welcome desk as she did each week.

Marguerite was a wonderful person and a true inspiration to us all. I feel blessed to have known her, Pope said. I know her giving spirit will go on and her memory will be honored through this award.

About Florida Hospital DeLand

Florida Hospital DeLand is a member of Adventist Health System, a faith-based health care organization with 46 hospital campuses and nearly 8,200 licensed beds in 10 states. With 164-beds, Florida Hospital DeLand is one of the six Florida Hospitals in Volusia and Flagler counties that composes the Florida Hospital East Florida Region. As the largest hospital system in the area, the Florida Hospital East Florida Region has 923 beds and more than 6,000 employees. With a mission to extend the healing ministry of Christ, the Florida Hospital East Florida Region collectively contributed nearly $120 million in benefits in 2015 to the underprivileged, the community's overall health and wellness and spiritual needs, and capital improvements.