Mondays through Thursdays are special for people receiving outpatient rehabilitation at Overland Park Regional Medical Center, their friends and family members, and staff. Those are the days when Richard Wagner lends dependability, a helpful demeanor, and calm reassurance to those entering the "world of rehabilitation," in the facility's Medical Plaza West building.

A volunteer at the facility for several years, Wagner endears himself to everyone he encounters. He has a keen sense of the hospital's goal to make patients and visitors comfortable and well-informed, and he makes the rehab area a pleasant and orderly environment for visitors and staff.

Wagner is part of an impressive cadre of Overland Park Regional volunteers who ensure that the hospital functions smoothly and efficiently. More than 150 regular volunteers share their time, talents, and energies to help staff provide excellence in patient care. Students in the community add even more strength in numbers, particularly during the summer but also during the academic year.

A typical volunteer day for Wagner, an Overland Park resident, begins as early as 5:30 a.m. and continues through 2:00 p.m.

"I don't know what we would do without him," said Isabel Schockey, coordinator of outpatient therapy. "He has really become part of our work family here, and his warmth and calm, reassuring personality are so appreciated."

One of Wagner's first duties each morning is making coffee for the work area. Staff are especially grateful to partake of their morning java promptly on arrival to help them begin engaging in their duties. He also opens the department each morning, and he enjoys keeping an eye out through an expansive glass fourth-floor window to see other staff arrive in the early-morning hours.

Perhaps most meaningful to Wagner is greeting patients and their accompanying friends and families as they arrive in rehab, making sure they are in the appropriate location, giving them procedural pointers, directing them to various locales, and generally helping them have a comfortable and stress-free visit to the department.

"It probably sounds like a cliché, but the thing I most enjoy about volunteering is giving back to the community," said Wagner. "I am so grateful that my personal life situation has given me the opportunity and the time to assist the hospital and our patients through volunteer service."

Wagner has logged more than 4,000 hours of volunteer service and is well on his way to 4,500.

"It is a pleasure to have Richard Wagner among us," said Susan Thilking, coordinator of volunteers for Overland Park Regional. "Richard is among those seniors who make such a difference for patients, their caregivers, staff, and physicians here. The myriad of details that our volunteers help with make a tremendous difference in patient care, and our senior volunteers, like Wagner, are so valued for their dedication, maturity, and contribution to teamwork."

Wagner is in his second term as one of nine members of the hospital's volunteer services board, which provides advice and direction concerning the provision of services. Board members also make significant contributions with fundraising efforts, including operation of the hospital's gift shop.

The transition to the volunteer sector was a natural for Wagner in terms of his people skills. He spent many years working as a representative in sales distribution, traveling widely. His most recent home before moving to the Kansas City area was St. Louis, Mo., but he was based in a number of cities during his career. His move to this area was influenced by a strong desire to be near family.

Whether maintaining precision accuracy over the organization of rehab linens and supplies, greeting the public, preparing for the opening of the department, helping to make beds, or assisting in other ways, Wagner can be counted on like clockwork, his work peers say. Like an Eveready® battery, he can always be relied on for his unflinching willingness to help wherever help is needed.

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