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You may not hear him buzzing around the ER at Greenwich Hospital, but the staff certainly knows when he's there. Lewis "Buzz" Hochberg is not shy, has not missed a day since he began volunteering and is always on his A-game.
"I am always multitasking. To do a good job in the ER, you must just go. You are directed to do many things and you just do them. It is a constant ebb and flow."
There is no typical day in the ER for Buzz. His routine begins with a hello to the unit secretary, finding out who the charge and triage nurses are and looking at the daily assignment sheet.
He has three main responsibilities: As an advocate to people coming into the ER, he tries to relax them and make them feel comfortable. He also dispatches patients to X-ray, to a CAT scan or wherever they need to go, or he transports them himself to various appointment rooms.
"When I first started as an escort, I learned every part of the hospital," he said. "I walked all over and to every department because I wanted to know everything that was going on."
Buzz, who is 74 years old, became so involved in the ER department that in 2009 he logged over 1,000 hours. Going into his fifth year as a volunteer, he is just shy of 3,000 hours. Buzz also trains incoming ER volunteers. He takes shows them the drill, from knowing important hospital codes to room numbers and the do's and don'ts of the department.
"I wake up with a shot of adrenaline in the morning and can't wait to get there," he said. "I have a responsibility and I take it very seriously. I always try and stay ahead of the game."
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