On January 30th, 2019 Garrison Commander Col. Jim Clifford (pictured left) awarded Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces and Veterans volunteer, Jay Waldman the Commander's Award for Civilian Service at Fort Gordon – near Augusta, Georgia.
Nearly two years ago, when Jay started with the Red Cross as a Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center Transportation Volunteer, he drove a golf cart. On average, he took 50 patients per day to and from their appointments with the Patient Experience Department. Soon, he was also transporting patients with the Ambulatory Surgery Center and the Recovery Center. Mr. Waldman has also supported the GI Clinic, making lab and blood bank runs, decompiling patient charts for the nursing staff and assisting in OMNI Cell supply inventories.
In February 2018, Mr. Waldman added volunteering in Urology to his busy schedule. With this, he sets up procedure rooms, observes patient procedures, supports patients during recovery and cleans medical devices. Because of his dedication and enthusiasm, Mr. Waldman received supervised, on-the-job training in high-level disinfection and attended the formal hospital training course on cleaning to meet certification standards. Clinic officials regularly remark on Jay’s positive attitude: he is inquisitive, assimilates new tasks quickly and has the unique ability to put patients at ease.
“Mr. Waldman is willing to help in every possible way. His enthusiasm is unmatched, his work with military and civilian hospital staff is nothing but professional and his dedication to serving others defines compassion.” said Georgia Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces and Veterans Director, Ebony Bradly.
Before joining the American Red Cross, Jay retired from 26 years of active duty as a Military Intelligence Lieutenant Colonel and retired as a GG-14 in the intelligence field with more than 15 years of additional time devoted to civil service.
As of today, Jay has given more than 1,000 hours of his time to the American Red Cross—proudly serving the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces, veterans and their families at Fort Gordon.
Congratulations and thank you Jay, for all you do!
If you are reading this and would like to join Jay as a Service to the Armed Forces and Veterans volunteer, visit redcross.org/volunteer.