A Warm Welcome: Meet Our Hospital Greeters
With a friendly hello, reassuring presence and comforting smile, our hospital greeters play an important role in helping patients feel at ease from the start. We recently sat down with two dedicated volunteers—Susan Goux and Kathy Sullivan—to learn more about the impact they make each day.
Falmouth Hospital: Susan Goux stays connected to community
Susan Goux
After a 25-year career as director of human resources at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Susan Goux wasn’t quite ready to slow down. Instead, she found a new way to stay connected to people and community by working as a volunteer greeter at Falmouth Hospital.
Goux, who moved to Falmouth in 1973 and spent decades working and raising a family there, now lives in Bourne but brings that same deep connection to each of her volunteer shifts. For the past three years, she has welcomed patients and visitors in both the Emergency Department and the Faxon Center lobby, offering guidance and a calm presence from the moment they walk through the door.
One visitor recently told Goux it’s so nice to be greeted.
“It immediately calms them down, because they know they don’t have to figure out what they’re supposed to do,” says Goux.
Susan understands just how important that first interaction can be. In the Emergency Department, where she volunteers on Tuesday mornings, she helps manage the flow of patients, keeps visitors informed and supports the triage team by maintaining order in the waiting area.
Stationed at a small computer stand near the front, she’s able to quickly look up where patients are in the hospital and help guide family members to the right place.
“It’s all communication,” she said. “People want to know what’s going on.”
On Thursdays, she shifts to the Faxon Center, where she directs patients to appointments, answers questions and helps ease the uncertainty that can come with navigating the hospital.
Her background in human resources, and earlier work in the hospitality industry, prepared her well for the role. She’s comfortable interacting with a wide range of personalities and handling situations with confidence, patience and empathy.
“I like to feel like I’m useful,” she said, adding that volunteering gives her a meaningful way to stay engaged without adding stress.
As a grandmother to eight grandchildren, ranging in age from 14 to 26, Susan sees her time and service as a way to lead by example—showing the importance of staying engaged and giving back. Each week, Susan and her husband also volunteer with Meals on Wheels, delivering food to community members in need.
At the end of each shift at the hospital, staff members often thank her for being there—a reflection of the meaningful role she plays.
“I do want to feel like I’m making a difference,” says Goux, “and this is a wonderful way to do that.”
Cape Cod Hospital: Tuesday mornings with Kathy Sullivan
Kathy Sullivan
“Good morning. How can I help you?”
Every Tuesday morning from 8 a.m. to noon, patients and families move through the main lobby at Cape Cod Hospital, many unsure of where to go or what to expect. Standing near the front reception desk, volunteer ambassador Kathy Sullivan is often the very first person they see, greeting each visitor with a friendly smile.
As a hospital ambassador, Sullivan does far more than offer directions. She helps patients navigate the registration process, assists with wayfinding, supports reception staff and, when needed, personally walks or wheels patients to their appointments.
“I’d say 50 percent of the people who come in do not know how to register,” says Sullivan, who has volunteered at Cape Cod Hospital for nine years. “They’re not sure what’s going to happen, so listening first is a big part of it.”
Many of the people Sullivan encounters are vulnerable. Some arrive anxious, overwhelmed or unsure. “They’re coming in because something is wrong,” she says. “It could be minor. It could be a very big thing.”
A retired registered nurse, Sullivan says the most rewarding moments are simple but meaningful. “The satisfaction you get is when people are at ease, they understand what’s going to happen—and they give you the biggest thank-you,” she says.
Volunteering is also a shared commitment. Her husband, Roger, gives his time at Cape Cod Hospital as part of the transport team, helping patients reach their destinations, whether it’s for an X-ray, procedure or appointment.
“You have to have good customer service,” says Sullivan. “It’s about the visitors—you represent the hospital when people walk through the door.”
That welcoming presence—steady, kind and reassuring—is exactly what so many patients and visitors need, and why Sullivan’s Tuesday mornings make a lasting impression at Cape Cod Hospital.
