If you visit Frankston Hospital on a Friday morning, chances are you’ll be greeted by the smiling faces of Gus and Thea DeGroot.
“It’s all about the people. When you come to a hospital you can already feel nervous… vulnerable… We came to this country feeling very much like that, and we were lifted up,” recalls Thea. “And this is what we do – a little bit of a lift-up.”
Gus has been volunteering at the hospital for 27 years, and took up the Greet and Guide role along with wife Thea 15 years ago. The service started as a small kiosk just outside the hospital entrance, with Gus and Thea running the desk on Friday nights.
Both describe volunteering as a way of life. Gus recalls being recruited at around 10 years old into his first volunteer role by the hospital’s then-President, Vic McComb, doorknocking for Red Cross.
“We’re blessed, we’ve done voluntary work all our lives. Our parents brought us into it, and our children do it, we all do it. It’s very rewarding, you feel like you’ve done something good,” says Thea.
“It’s helping people to do things… and it’s as simple as that,” adds Gus.
In 2024, the Greet and Guide volunteers recorded over 24,000 wayfinding enquiries and personally accompanied over 5000 people to their destinations, making a real difference in improving the experience for patients and visitors as well as being of great assistance to reception staff and departments.
Gus estimates taking 4500-5000 steps each shift at the hospital.
“In another two years I’ll be 80,” he says. “You’ve got to keep up the walking.”
The hospital has changed and evolved during their time as volunteers, but Gus and Thea have managed to keep up with where everything is.
“I can still remember,” recalls Gus. “Where Cardiology is [now], my daughters were born there – that was then Maternity.”
The prospect of performing the role in a whole new hospital, with new routes to learn, might seem daunting – but Gus and Thea are excited.
“I’d love to see it [the new hospital], to see how it’s all going to work,” says Gus. “I’m looking forward to it, not only for me so much … but if it makes life easier for the patients and their visitors, that’s the important thing.”
Despite dedicating their lives to volunteering, Gus and Thea have no plans to retire from their roles at Frankston Hospital anytime soon.
“I’m getting older,” smiles Gus. “But while I can do it, why not?”
“It’s the people, we love them and they love us,” adds Thea. “You walk with them, you talk with them. It’s just brilliant.”