She said the idea for delivering the traditional Christmas flowering plant stems from a year that Passover preparation curtailed her volunteering efforts.
“I needed to be at home cooking and some non-Jewish people said ‘We’ll do what you’re supposed to do,’” she said. “I thought that was really great because they really helped me out and with that I started thinking we ought to do that for a Christian holiday and Christmas seems like a good one.”
Dee Lefevers, 56, of Hamilton, a Fort Hamilton patient since Dec. 14, said he appreciated getting one of the more than 80 poinsettias Ringel and her son Ron delivered late Wednesday morning.
“It’s really cool,” said Lefevers, who first heard of the delivery from a hospital official. “I kind of expected a plastic one.”
Ringel said she started the volunteer effort in 1985 with numerous members of her synagogue, Hamilton’s Congregation Beth Israel, turning out to area hospitals on Christmas Day. The effort gradually waned, she said, because not all volunteers were needed when hospitals’ reduced staffing for the day, but the poinsettia deliveries continued.
The Auxiliary of Fort Hamilton Hospital purchases the poinsettias from Lowe’s at a special rate and gives them to Ringel to distribute, according to Mollie Young, manager of volunteer services.
“We think it’s so wonderful and we’re so glad to have Rita,” Young said. “She has had more longevity than a lot of volunteers here. [For] almost 30 years she’s been doing this committedly for us and I think that speaks volumes to the spirit of volunteerism.”
Ringel, dressed in a red festive holiday sweater, donned a red-and-green battery-powered Christmas hat to make the delivery a little more jolly.
A press of a button elicits a cheerful Christmas tune from the hat and peals of laughter from patients, but the poinsettias typically induce the biggest smiles. Ringel recalled one year when one patient said “For me? You’re giving it to me? Nobody has ever given me a Christmas present before.”
“These kind of things sort of stick with you and make you feel good about it,” Ringel said.
Patients weren’t the only ones receiving gifts for the holiday. Hospital administration on Tuesday distributed baskets filled with snacks and treats for staffers to enjoy during their Christmas Eve or Christmas Day shift.
“Obviously, in a hospital, you need folks to work, but the fact that our staff is so willing to work and they’re away from their family and friends and loved ones on this holiday, the hospital leadership just wanted to show their gratitude,” said spokeswoman Liz Long.
Emily Despoth, a Fort Hamilton nurse working a 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. shift in the hospital’s Intermediate Care Unit, said it was “really nice” to have extras like Lifesavers candy and other snack food while working the holiday.
“It’s always appreciated when they show their appreciation for us working on the holidays because we have to,” she said. “I’m glad to be able to work and take care of the people that are here and make sure they can be able to go home soon.”
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