Chester Hui
By Staff Reports
(Honolulu) — The Queen’s Medical Center (Queen’s) recently honored its student and adult volunteers of the year at an appreciation luncheon, hosted by Robb Ohtani, MD, representing the Queen’s Board of Trustees, and Art Ushijima, president of The Queen’s Medical Center.
Chester Hui is this year’s recipient of the student Kokua Po‘okela Award. Hui couldn’t wait to turn 15 so he could apply for a volunteer position at Queen’s. That was one-and-a-half years and 330 service hours ago. His nominators describe him as enthusiastic and always willing to help. He has served at Queen’s Heart and in the ICU, and is now assigned to Fleetwing, so he can help train new volunteers. Although his original career interest was in pharmacy, he is now considering medicine and will pursue that interest this summer at Stanford.
Francis Bueno
Francis Bueno is this year’s recipient of the adult Kokua Po‘okela Award. He has volunteered for one-and-a-half years and has logged 575 hours. Bueno is known for his welcoming smile, friendly demeanor and for going above and beyond to support the team at The Queen’s Medical Center – West O‘ahu. In fact, he is so dedicated, he didn’t want to miss a volunteer day to have lunch with his family. That lunch was actually a ruse to get him to attend the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon so he could be presented with the award. In the end, the staff told him the department would be “closed for renovations,” so he couldn’t come in; and Bueno’s family watched him receive a well-deserved recognition.
Faye Uno
Faye Uno received the Ho‘omau Award, which recognizes longevity of service. She has been a Queen’s volunteer for 26 years and has donated almost 6,000 hours. She helps visitors and callers at the Information Desk and also serves in Fleetwing. The former teacher is valued as an effective trainer and top evaluator. She is often asked for advice because of her many years of experience. She is gracious, kind and always willing to do what’s best for the hospital’s patients and visitors.
Ushijima recognized all of the volunteers who serve at Queen’s. “We are grateful for the generous contributions of time and talent that our volunteers bring every day,” he said. “They serve our patients with aloha and are an essential part of our community and ‘ohana.”
The yearly statistics show just how much the volunteers positively affect the lives of Queen’s patients. Volunteers worked on over 1,000 special projects for 107 units and departments. They delivered more than 2,100 floral arrangements and transported 8,100 patients. All together, Queen’s volunteers donated over 58,000 hours in 2014, with an estimated value of $1.4 million in service to patients and the community.
Volunteers have been an integral part of The Queen’s Medical Center for more than 155 years. If you are interested in learning more or becoming a volunteer, please visit www.queens.org, or call Queen’s Volunteer Services at Punchbowl at (808) 691-4397 or at West O‘ahu at (808) 691-3197.