When Flora Kelly retired, she and her husband Fred moved to Palm Bay to be closer to family. That closeness closed her in.

“I did not want to live with my retired husband 24 hours a day,” she remembers.

Thirty-eight years later, Kelly is a Health First volunteer who’s logged more than 60,000 hours – the equivalent of a 30-year career. She found a family at Health First, as she told WESH 2 News.

With about 9,500 employees, Health First is the largest non-governmental employer on the Space Coast.

The volunteer rolls at Health First are down about half from what they were before the pandemic. The most immediate needs include Courtesy Cart drivers, visiting patient floors, and patient desk attendants throughout the hospital.

To learn more about volunteering at Health First, visit HF.org/volunteer.

Joelle Boccabella, Manager of Volunteer Services for Community Hospitals at Health First, says she relies on Flora Kelly for her vast knowledge of the culture, her coolness under pressure, and her sunny disposition.

“Our volunteers’ ages range from 15 to 93,” Boccabella says. “They’re high school students and retirees. They work on patient floors and the gift shops, physical therapy, surgical units.”

“All our volunteers, no matter their age, have this in common – they want to give back, and to be part of something bigger than themselves. Health First is a cornerstone of this community.”

READ the Flora's full profile in Space Coast Daily HERE.