Hope Hospice Volunteers Feted For Compassion, Dedication

Submitted by Hope Hospice:

"You can't save everyone, but you can always make them comfortable."

Those words, delivered years ago by a professor, left a lasting mark on then-medical student Peter Wong.

Wong took those words to heart and used them to direct his career as a physician dedicated to internal medicine, oncology and hospice care, including 30 years of service to Dublin-based Hope Hospice.

Wong and hospice volunteers were honored June 22 at Hope Hospice's 31st annual recognition dinner held at the .

For those who stand strong for others in life's final transition stage, it was a night of tribute and thanks.

Irene Phillips was named "Volunteer of the Year," for her 23 years of service aiding patients and their familes, along with assisting at such events as the and handling a myriad of office tasks.

Also honored were volunteers Rose Stack (18 years of volunteer service), Diane Stein (12 years) and Judy Rognlien (five years).

Philips, Stack, Stein and Rognlien each spent more that 200 hours annually as Hope volunteers, sitting bedside vigils, calling bereaved family members, assisting in the office and even singing to the patients.

While such tasks may seem sad or depressing to the unfamiliar, the women attest that their roles are, in fact, rewarding and life-affirming.

Wong, Hope Hospice's medical director and a Danville resident, who also practices in Castro Valley, Pleasanton and San Ramon, said the role volunteers play is vital to the hospice network.

The night's festivities, along with dinner, included a fast-moving dice game, Left-Center-Right, and ice-breaking guessing games.

serves the emotional, spiritual and medical needs of terminally ill patients and their families in Alamo, Blackhawk, Castro Valley, Diablo, Danville, Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Sunol and surrounding communities in the East Bay area of San Francisco.