Published: January 21, 2010 04:01 pm      

New smiling faces at Gordon Hospital

CALHOUN — Visitors, patients, and guests of Gordon Hospital will notice two new smiling faces as they walk into the main entrance.

Walter M. “Marty” Munro and Phil Robbins recently joined the Gordon Hospital family as Encounter Navigators. The volunteer positions were created in 2008 in an effort to continually improve customer service for patients and visitors.

“The Encounter Navigators serve as greeters and liaisons for patients and visitors,” said Cindy Davis, chair of Gordon Hospital’s Customer Service Performance Improvement Team. “They are there to answer questions and direct patients and visitors on where to go for services, how to register, locations of departments, and other questions as they arise.”

The Encounter Navigator position is a direct result of the Customer Service Performance Improvement Team, Davis added.

“This team has worked tirelessly to identify areas of improvement at Gordon Hospital and works to offer solutions to decrease barriers between us and our customers.”

Marty Munro, who resides in Gordon County, is a retired educator having taught all levels of public education for 33 years in three states. He is married to his “first wife and has two daughters, a son-in-law, and one-and-a-half grandsons,” he said.

In his spare time, Munro enjoys reading, sports, military issues, politics, history periodicals, and family activities. He added that he is very happy to volunteer at Gordon Hospital. He will be on duty from 9 a.m. until noon on Fridays.

“All of my life I have enjoyed people - talking to them, helping them,” he said. “This is all the reward I need.”

Phil Robbins, a lifelong resident of Gordon County, will be volunteering on Monday afternoons. Robbins and his wife Susan are the parents of Rebekah and Tyler. In his spare time, he enjoys golf.

From 1970 through 1984, Robbins served as a teacher and coach for the Calhoun City Schools System. From 1984 until 1992, he served as assistant principal and vocational director for Gordon Central High School. In 1993, he was elected Superintendent of Gordon County Schools and retired from that position in 2003. Also, from 2003 until 2009, he served as a professor in the educational leadership graduate program at Kennesaw State University. He holds degrees from Berry College, the University of Georgia, and Georgia State University.

Robbins, a member of the Calhoun First Baptist Church, also served as a Big Buddy for the Gordon County Schools System from 1998 until 2007, and on the board of directors for the Gordon County Board of Health from 1993-2003. He currently serves as vice chair of the Gordon Hospital Foundation Board.

Other Encounter Navigators serving Gordon Hospital include Bruce Borgersen, Celia Clemons, Margie King, and John Russell. If anyone else in the community would like to volunteer to be an Encounter Navigator, please contact Davis at (706) 602-7800, extension 2394.