When you meet Spencer Doyle, Pat Callahan, Jean Evoy and Mike Bozinovski, it’s as though you’ve met a group of friends who have known each other all their lives. What makes it even more special is when you find out that the ‘four amigos’ met here at Providence.

“We all have ties from visiting someone we knew here in Providence and we all ended up staying after our loved one died,” says Spencer. “This is the Cadillac of all places for taking care of the elderly and we all wanted to give back.”

“It’s a special place,” adds Jean. “I’ve met some really nice people and I’ve made some really great friends.”

On Tuesdays, one of her friends, fellow volunteer Pat, picks up Jean from her home for the group’s volunteer shift on our Palliative Care floor. The group helps with the music program then runs a trivia game where they offer up two $5 Tim Hortons gift cards out of their own pockets as prizes for the patients that answer the most questions.

“We like helping out and interacting with the patients,” says Mike. “I miss it when I’m not here.”

Adds Spencer, “We interact better with patients because of the way we interact with each other.”

This includes joking with one another during trivia, putting a smile on the faces of those in attendance.

“It’s their outlook on life and the way they are with one another… they have made a lot of our patients very happy,” explains Tracy Martin, Therapeutic Recreationist for Palliative Care.

And when they’re not helping patients, they’re supporting each other. Says Tracy, “One will drive another to doctors’ appointments, to the airport and to pick things up. They even go to Jean’s house to help her wash her windows. There’s a real sense of camaraderie amongst them.”

It’s these acts of kindness that show a real community within Providence’s walls and demonstrate how a small group of people can make a big difference.