LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A local college student is overcoming some barriers thanks to new technology.
Bailey Hunter volunteers at Arkansas Children's Hospital and uses a wheelchair to get around.
After encountering challenges while delivering stuffed animals and books to patients, the hospital staff designed a custom wagon to make her job more manageable.
When Hunter isn't doing schoolwork, you'll find her volunteering at the hospital once a week.
"It is really rewarding," Hunter said. "I think it's nice to see kids because it doesn't matter what they're going through. They're resilient and always excited to see, like, just a bear... little things make their day."
While bringing smiles to their faces, she encountered some challenges while making these deliveries in her wheelchair, which she'd had for two years.
Hunter used to pack the bears in bags, but it wasn't the most efficient method for her.
"I would have to go up to the units and then come back down, get more bears [and] go back up, which was challenging," Hunter said. "It was tiring to go back and forth. Also, it was tough to balance the bag on my lap and open doors."
The pastoral care leader noticed Hunter's struggles and turned to the hospital's healthcare technology team for help.
That's when they created a custom wagon for Hunter to put the bears and books in.
"It provided her the ability to have it basically follow her," said Walter Gardner, who helped design the custom wagon. "She's figured out how to manipulate it for real tight turns to bring it close to her. When she takes off, it just follows her."
ACH Volunteer Engagement Manager Halley Hamon said they celebrate people like Hunter this week during National Volunteer Week and throughout the year.
"I can personally say that the impact of the program was made on my own family and every day here in our hospital across our many inpatient units," Hamon said. "Those volunteers are making such an impact with those families."
Hunter isn't letting anything get in the way of doing what she loves, which includes volunteering at the hospital. She said the volunteer work has helped her decide to take on the healthcare role of "child life specialist" as she prepares to study for her master's degree at Missouri State.