Sally Baker (above) enjoys the weekly calls she receives from Tele-Care volunteers.

Since 1970, Tele-Care Program Volunteers Have Made Tens of Thousands of Calls to Check on Vulnerable Bay Area Community Members

By Kathy Engle, Vitals contributor

The challenges of being homebound and isolated can lead to medical challenges as well. That’s why Sutter Alta Bates Summit Medical Center established its Tele-Care program in 1970. For 54 years, program volunteers have made weekly check-in phone calls to vulnerable or at-risk people in the community to offer comfort, companionship and care. Believed to be the nation’s original telephone contact program, Tele-Care volunteers serve hundreds of people in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties each year.

“I feel seen and taken care of when my Tele-Care volunteer calls,” says long-time client Geneva Thomas. “The call serves as a wellness check, but they remember details about my life and personalize the call to make it so meaningful.”

Volunteers, who range in age from 18 to 99, play a crucial role in creating a nurturing and caring environment for clients to help them thrive. Younger volunteers sometimes do it to gain experience in the healthcare field to test out potential careers, while many older volunteers are looking for a greater purpose in retirement.

Tele-Care can also serve as a safety net should ever a client miss a call or a volunteer sense trouble while on the line. At least a couple dozen times every year, volunteers alert emergency services that someone has fallen, had a stroke or suffered a heart attack. Each client has a set of emergency contacts that can be contacted by the volunteer if anything goes wrong.

Sally Baker was the first African American hired at Alta Bates Hospital in 1966 and is now a Tele-Care client. She loves the program because as she says, “The people who call are friendly and so interested in your health.”

Reunion Honors Longtime Volunteer and Benefactor

The Melva Gage Appreciation Award Winners are (L to R): Dandy Meniano, Christine Mitchell, Dr. Tony Sillemon, Mary Loura Garcia and Dr. Michael DiGiacomo

A special group of volunteers and patients met for an in-person reunion recently, for the first time since 2017, to celebrate the memory of Tele-Care program benefactor and longtime volunteer, Melva Gage, and her husband Nate (Nat) Gage. The couple made a $1 million gift to support the program where Melva made volunteer calls for 40 years.

The reunion featured the first Melva Gage Appreciation Awards honoring the dedication and partnership of people involved in Tele-Care. These awards went to:

• Michael DiGiacomo – retired podiatric surgeon and Tele-Care volunteer, currently checking-in with 26 clients weekly.
• Christine Mitchell – retired Sutter Alta Bates Summit employee of 36 years and Tele-Care volunteer for 9 years. She is the only volunteer to stay on through the pandemic and helped train new volunteers.
• Dandy Meniano – serving Sutter Health for 8 years now, he is Administrative Supervisor of Alta Bates Summit East Bay Advanced Care and the volunteer department.
• Tony Sillemon – director of Community Health, which includes Alta Bates Summit’s volunteer program, East Bay Advanced Care, Chaplaincy and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Employee Resource Group.
• Sutter East Bay Philanthropy team – partnering with the community to bring additional philanthropic support to this program.

To learn more about becoming a Tele-Care volunteer, please call (510) 204-2032 or email absmcvolunteer@sutterhealth.org. For more information on supporting the program with a gift, please contact Maureen Smith at maureen.smith@sutterhealth.org.