Anne-Marie Rempala has been volunteering in the gift shop at Broward Health North every Thursday for the past three years. She calls it her family’s hospital; her husband was treated there after a serious accident, she received care after suffering a heart attack at 45 and her son was also treated at the hospital as a child.
Rempala spent her career as a psychiatric nurse, beginning at Broward Health Imperial Point and later teaching nursing at Florida Atlantic University. After retiring, she was recruited into the volunteer role. While she wasn’t quite ready to return to direct patient care, the gift shop offered a meaningful way to give back.
Rempala said the role is about much more than ringing up gift shop purchases. “Some people just need to come in and browse, to be distracted for a little while. Others just need a word or two of kindness,” she said.
