Drexel Hill, Pa. – Springfield resident, Jane Bollinger, was recently named Delaware County Memorial Hospital’s (DCMH) Volunteer of the Year and given the Ethel P. Burke Award.

“She’s a great asset for the department and a tremendous help to me,” says Sue Iocco, of the Tumor Registry department of DCMH’s Cancer Center. “Her consistency and dependability, along with her medical background and knowledge, make her an ideal volunteer.”

In the early 1950s, Bollinger worked as a staff nurse at DCMH but then took a 16-year hiatus to raise her three sons. In 1988, after spending more than 20 years at local hospitals, she retired but refused to walk away from service to patients. Jane began volunteering at the DCMH Emergency Department as a way to keep active in patient care. She administered blood pressure screenings and then transferred to the Cancer Center to better use her clinical skills.

“I like being in the hospital and nursing was a nice part of my life. I enjoy doing things to help people,” says Bollinger. “My mother was a nurse and I thought she was marvelous. They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery, so I guess that’s why I chose the nursing profession.”

“She’s kind, caring, consistent and always willing to help — Jane has had an impact on every staff member in the department and they all recognize the value of her contributions. As the needs of the department have changed, Jane has adapted and never complains — she just goes with the flow and helps out however she can to meet the needs of our patients,” says Marie DeStefano, DCMH administrative director of Oncology.

The Ethel P. Burke Award is given yearly to recognize and honor the outstanding dedication, loyalty and contribution of a designated volunteer from the Thrift Shoppe, Gift Shop, Hospice program and/or in-house volunteers of DCMH. The volunteer must have been or currently in a DCMH-related program for a minimum of three years and in a manner which exemplified unusual qualitative service.

“After all the time we’ve spent together, Jane is more like a friend now than someone who just comes in and volunteers,” says Iocco. “She is warm and funny — she has a special personality and continues to give of herself.”