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Ascension St. Vincent Hospital Digestive Health Unit
Honoree, Volunteer
Jerry Flynn spent 33 years in a suit at IBM and then six as principal of St. Thomas Aquinas School, both jobs that came with clout. Now retired, he changes bedsheets and cleans rooms for colonoscopy patients at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital on West 86th Street.
“It’s grunt work, but I really enjoy it,” he said. “I must get 1,000 thank-yous a day from staff and patients.”
Flynn had major surgery in 2016 and saw how hard nurses work. The experience inspired him to sign up to volunteer at Ascension in 2018. He chose Digestive Health because it would keep him busy all day as opposed to sitting by a door as a greeter.
He got a twice-a-week schedule, often doubling his four-hour shift voluntarily. He has logged more than 2,000 hours providing “unmatched care and comfort,” according to the staff. When he’s not turning over rooms, he wheels post-op patients to the pickup area, pausing at a photo collage of staff-owned pets. “I always point out the best-looking one,” 81-year-old Flynn said, referring to his goldendoodle, Colay.
The patients he transports to pickup are always in a good mood because their colonoscopy is over, and they received good news. “Otherwise, they wouldn’t be going home,” Flynn said.
Flynn loves the Ascension culture of caring and friendliness. “The people I work with are so great. When you’re walking down the hall, everyone says hello. It grows on you,” he said. He has made a new circle of friends at the hospital. “How can you not like it here?” he said.
His co-workers think just as highly of him, calling him their hardest-working associate and praising his cheerful disposition.
The sense of community has led Flynn to expand his two-day schedule to a full week. When he’s not working in Digestive Health, he distributes communion throughout the hospital as a liturgical minister and takes therapy dogs through Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital. Even so, “I get more than I give,” Flynn said.•
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