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    In the Loop: Volunteer program staff rally together for family facing loss

Volunteer Program staff recently participated in a Values Review to help deepen their understanding of Mayo's core values. During the event, one exercise brought back a poignant moment for the team.


When it comes to living out values like compassion, integrity and excellence, we'd say the staff in the Mayo Clinic Volunteer Program are at the top of their game. They, however, wanted to take things up a notch. So the group recently went through a voluntary Values Review, designed to help work units deepen their understanding of Mayo Clinic's values. "Our values are a gift from our founders," John J. Murphy, a member of the Values Review Committee, tells us. "A Values Review is a way to help keep those gifts alive in daily life."

As part of the review, staff share stories about how they've lived out the Mayo Clinic Values. Murphy tipped us off to a powerful one shared by Marie Aaberg during her group's review. We followed up with Aaberg, a manager in the volunteer program, to hear about the experience that affected her entire unit — and brought them closer as a team.

Aaberg tells us that a few days before Christmas last year, she received a call that took her mind far from any typical holiday to-do list. "An ICU nurse called the volunteer program office and indicated she was caring for a young mother who was not expected to live through the day," she says. "Her three young children were coming to the hospital to say their goodbyes. The nurse wondered if we had stuffed animals that we could give the children to comfort them." Read the rest of the story.
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This story originally appeared on the In the Loop blog.