Q| What made you interested in this particular cause?
A| My wife and I used to take Communion to shut-ins for more than 15 years, so we were familiar with various nursing homes in the area. She came down with ALS awhile back, and I took care of her 24/7. I put off a knee and hip replacement during this time, and when I finally had the surgeries, I was living by myself and had to do rehab in the Bethesda Meadow nursing home. I really bonded with the physical therapists there. I started volunteering at their church services on Saturday mornings and then saw an ad for VOYCE in a newsletter. I thought I needed to take my commitment up a notch. I knew how to take care of senior citizens and had been on the other side of the bed for a long time. I knew what it was like being bound into half a room, so I got involved. I really fell in love with the whole system and just felt it was where I belong. My personal experiences relate to people I deal with now. The empathy was built in.
Q| How long have you been a volunteer?
A| Since last July.
Q| What kind of volunteer work are you involved with?
A| I’m an ombudsman for VOYCE. There are 50 of us, and we are each assigned to a different nursing home or long-term care facility. I’m at Big Bend Woods in Valley Park, which has 103 beds. The challenge is to relate to each patient as an individual case study. I am their advocate. The home I’m at had not had an ombudsman for 10 years, so a lot of the residents don’t even know what it is! Their eyebrows go up a little bit when I explain that I am only there to work for them. Family problems are probably one of the most complex we deal with, and the other big issue is that out of the 22,000 residents in these facilities in the metro area, half of them have never been visited by anyone for more than five years. That’s the void we’re trying to fill. It’s sad. I always wear the same tie with hot air balloons on it so even if they forget my face, they always remember my tie. I gave residents Happy Easter/spring cards, and it brought tears to the eyes of many because no one had ever sent them a card before. I take pictures at the nursing home’s special events. I specialize in expressions, not posed photos. Big Bend Woods will bring Elvis in every now and then, and we have Santa Claus come around Christmas. I look at the pictures afterward, and these residents go back to being 5 years old! They are in a different world. A goal of mine is to make them smile. So many of them haven’t smiled in ages; there are still about a dozen I’m working on!
Q| If you could do anything for the organization, what would it be?
A| I wish there were more fun experiences for these residents and more visitors. I always go on Friday afternoons because I still work full-time. Even after a really rough week, I walk in and realize my problems don’t even compare to theirs. These people will spend the rest of their lives in half of a room. Your problems go away very quickly.
In the Words of VOYCE: “Dick Corbet has played a crucial role as a volunteer ombudsman to the long-term care community to which he has been assigned. During his weekly visits to the 100 residents, he works to resolve serious complaints while also helping improve each resident’s quality of life in the most thoughtful ways.”
voyce: To educate and empower people and their families for quality living across the continuum of long-term care
nonprofit knowledge
* VOYCE provides advocacy services to the 22,000 individuals who live in the more than 300 skilled nursing, assisted living and residential care communities in 21 counties of greater St. Louis and northeast Missouri. More than half of these individuals have no one to advocate on their behalf.
* VOYCE helps those making long-term care decisions. An estimated 70 percent of those 65 and older will need long-term care, and 43 percent will spend time in a long-term care community.
meet the VOYCE board
From left: Rodney White, Nestle 
Purina Petcare; Barbara Westland, BJC Hospice; Elizabeth Sergel, Visiting Nurse Association of Greater St. Louis; Monica Campbell, Enterprise Bank & Trust; Stephanie Rohlfs-Young, Alzheimer’s Association; Louise Meret-Hanke, Ph.D., Saint Louis University; Terry Stilt, Edward Jones. Not pictured: James Brasfield, Ph.D., Webster University; Kelle Bub, AIG; Tim Effinger, ComForCare Home Care; Lynn Potts, Batesville Casket Company; Laura Wasson, Tech Electronics
