A Heart of Gold in the TMH Emergency Department
Quinte Health has some incredible volunteers! We recently received the message below from a grateful family member:
“I would like to recognize and say how amazing TMH volunteer Pam Pettigrew is. My husband was brought in by ambulance after being in a car crash. Pam immediately went to check to see if I could go see him and was so kind to keep me feeling like everything was OK and making me laugh. While waiting, I watched her help so many people and never sit down. That woman is absolutely amazing. You guys truly have an amazing volunteer with her.”
We couldn’t agree more.
Pam Pettigrew is a familiar face at Trenton Memorial Hospital (TMH)—and not just because of her signature sense of humour or tireless energy. She first walked through the doors as a physiotherapist in 1964, launching a career of care that has spanned decades. And even after retiring, Pam wasn’t done giving back. For more than 20 years now, she’s been volunteering at TMH, channeling her deep knowledge of the hospital and boundless compassion into every shift.
Over the years, Pam has worn many hats, including that of TMH Auxiliary President. She was instrumental in launching the volunteer program within the emergency department—an area of the hospital not for the faint of heart.
“You can’t volunteer in emerg unless you love it,” she says. And love it she does. From calming distraught family members to assisting those in crisis, Pam has seen it all—patients who are disoriented, injured, agitated—and meets every situation with a steady presence and open heart.
At 83 years old, and fresh off recovering from heart surgery, Pam is still on the move. If there’s anything she can do to lift someone’s spirits, she’s already doing it.
She calls it simple human kindness. A quick joke, a warm smile, or just being there to listen. “I can’t get you in any faster,” she often tells patients with a wink, “but I can help you with anything else. Just holler at me—I have eight grandchildren, so I’m used to being hollered at.” It’s the kind of line that usually earns a chuckle, even on the toughest days.
For Pam, the reward is in the little moments. “People come up to me and say, ‘I just can’t thank you enough,’ when I feel like I haven’t really done much—maybe just offered a cup of water or a few kind words,” she says. “Sometimes, they just need someone to listen. Someone who’s not a doctor or a family member. Just an ear. That can make all the difference.”
And to so many in the TMH community, Pam is that difference.
#OurPeople
#WeAllMakeADifference
