COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a room tucked away on the garden level of OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital is full of volunteers. They aren’t medically trained, but they are vital for patients and staff comfort care.
It’s not a new group. In fact, the Riverside Sewing Guild is older than Riverside Methodist Hospital itself.
In it’s heyday, the Sewing Guild was 2,700 members, in a network stitched together from local churches. Now in it’s 100th year, the Riverside Sewing Guild is 107 members strong.
“We are very proud to still be here,” said Mary McNabb, the Sewing Guild President. “That vision that they had all those years ago. We still have that today.”
The items they create today are a little different from what the hospital needed at the time. Members used to repair and stitch gowns for patients and make a version of cotton balls.
Now members make comfort care items, such as neck pillows, blankets, stuffed animals and even the newest item, a little pouch to hold hearing aides so it is not thrown out during meal service. Their current catalog is 40 items, but rotates based on what is needed most. Right now, it’s neck pillows.
“We give two hours of time for making a neck pillow,” said McNabb. “By the time you find your fabric, trace it out, cut it out, stuff it, that kind of thing. So we allow two hours of time for something like that.”
They racked up shelves of neck pillows, and 29,000 hours of donated volunteer time. One of its greatest accomplishments dates back to 1927, when the superintendent of White Cross Hospital asked the guild to help pay down its debt. The Guild raised $6,000 and was able to keep the hospital doors open.
The Riverside Sewing Guild is always looking for new members, and the kicker, sewing is not even required.
“We're going to keep recruiting and trying to get new members. And hopefully, we'll just keep growing and keep evolving as the hospital evolves, we will to,” said McNabb.