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The Heart of Vail Health: Inside the Volunteer Corps

If Vail Health’s talented doctors and medical staff are the face of the hospital, the Volunteer Corps is its heart.

What began in 1979 as 13 volunteers fundraising for a 10-bed hospital addition to Vail Valley Medical Center has grown into nearly 100 committed volunteers who have donated almost $1.8 million and countless hours to support Vail Health's programs and services, including Shaw Cancer Center and Beaver Creek Medical Center.

The Corps’ motto sums up its work well: “We volunteer because our caring makes a difference — for others, for our community and for ourselves.”

A Gift From the Heart

In 2025 alone, the Volunteer Corps donated more than 8,500 hours and raised $65,000 for hospital programs and equipment, including a ventilator for the emergency department and an employee vehicle for the Shaw at Home program care visits. Proceeds from the hospital gift shop are the main source of these annual donations.

“We not only enhance the human experience at Vail Health, but we also donate a tremendous amount of money,” explains Gail Ferry, longtime Vail resident and Volunteer Corps President. “The money we give, in addition to our heart, is very important.”

Ferry volunteered many hours in 2025 without receiving a cent in return. That’s part of what makes the work so special, she says.

“It really is giving from your heart,” Ferry says. “It can be very powerful. It’s a heart lifting, truly rewarding experience.”

Ferry and her fellow volunteers are dedicated to their work, whether that means helping staff, patients or the friends and family of those in care.

Caring for Patients

“The biggest thing about being a volunteer is you’ve got to have a big heart,” says Terri Dvorkin. A retired nurse practitioner who worked in internal medicine, Dvorkin joined the Volunteer Corps to help care for cancer patients. 

“Even though I was done practicing medicine, I wasn’t done giving and caring for patients and people,” she says.

Every Monday, Dvorkin shows up for her shift at Shaw Cancer Center. She helps stock blankets and bedside tables and gets lunch for chemo patients, whatever is needed. Mostly, though, she sits with patients, many of whom are feeling overwhelmed and afraid.

“The most humbling and wonderful moment is when I can sit with them, to be their ears, to hold their hand, to be their comfort,” she says. “That’s my ‘a-ha.’ I walk out of there and say, ‘I made a difference in somebody’s life today.’”

No Medical Degree Required

A medical background like Dvorkin's isn't necessary to make a difference, however. Ferry, retired from a career in title insurance, loves her work at the information desk, where she and fellow volunteers greet and guide people as they arrive at the hospital.

“One volunteer told me she felt if she helped just one person during her shift, it made her day worthwhile,” she says. “I really have taken that to heart. How did I positively impact one person’s day, and then another person’s day?”

Often, Ferry and her colleagues will leave their station to look for folks that might need help but haven’t yet found the information desk. One day, as Ferry walked the halls, she encountered a man who was picking up his wife from the emergency department. The couple was in Vail for a ski vacation when the woman hurt her leg. They did not have a car, so the husband planned to guide his wife, who was newly on crutches, down the street to the bus stop, in the middle of a snowstorm. Ferry was able to help them arrange a complimentary ride with the Vail Health valet services instead.

Jane Reisinger has volunteered at the information desk at Vail Health Hospital almost every Tuesday afternoon for the past 17 years. She loves the bustle and meeting people from all over the world who come into the hospital, many needing medical care or worried about loved ones. They are always so grateful for help, for the calm within the storm.

“I come home so tired, but at the same time, I’m so thankful I have this volunteer opportunity,” she says. “What you give is minor compared to what people give back to you.”

A Place for Every Personality

The Volunteer Corps oversees a number of programs and events, including live piano music every Tuesday at the hospital (which Ferry calls “therapy” for patients, their families and staff), an annual bake sale, and coordinate with the Vail Health Chaplains to provide the Soul Wagon, a cart that offers snacks, lotions, spiritual items and other options as a surprise-and-delight offering for staff at all locations.

“There’s a saying, ‘There’s a lid for every pot,’” Ferry says. “Similarly, at Vail Health’s Volunteer Corps, there’s a place or department for any kind of personality.”

Interested in volunteering? Be prepared for a more rigorous interview and background check than other volunteer opportunities, Ferry warns, but don’t be intimidated. There are a variety of positions, and the schedules are flexible, allowing for travel and other important personal time.

“This is one of the things to be treasured about the Corps,” she says. “You get to pick the shifts you want from a wide variety of different volunteer department experiences.”

For Ferry and her fellow volunteers, the reward isn't measured in hours logged or dollars raised, though both are substantial. It's in the hand held during a difficult diagnosis, the visitor guided through a snowstorm, the smile that greets someone walking through the door. It's in knowing that, as their motto promises, their caring truly makes a difference.