University of Virginia Library

Winning At
Western State

THE CAVALIER DAILY
dimension

By Alan Featherstone
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

I knew where I was immediately. Once
beyond the main foyer where we were
greeted with a smile and a stare by the
receptionist, I noticed a complete absence
of a most common item. There were no
doorknobs in sight.

This seemed appropriate, however,
because I was visiting Western State
Hospital where 2740 psychiatric and
old-age patients live, along with 22
physicians and a similarly small staff.

I wasn't visiting the hospital by
accident. I was just one of forty student
volunteers who visit there each week.
This volunteer program is sponsored by
Madison Hall and is under the
directorship of Paul deVries, Director of
Volunteer Community Service.

I first learned of this program by
reading the "University Notices" on page
4 of The Cavalier Daily. The call for
volunteers to visit Western State Hospital
intrigued me, so I asked about it.

The program is straightforward in its
approach to the hospital's needs. Jane
Berry, the hospital's Director of
Volunteer Services, explained that our
task would be to talk to the patients; play
cards, checkers, or ping-pong, or just
plain listen to their stories - some true,
some fantasy.

The need for volunteers is simple,
"Warm bodies" are needed, explained
Mrs. Berry, to visit with our patients.
Doctors have to treat them as patients,
whereas volunteers can treat them as
people and not get into a doctor-patient
type relationship with them.

'Critical Ward'

With this in mind we were led to Ward
B-2 where we would spend the rest of the
afternoon. This is the "critical ward."
The men here are often more aggressive
than others, their actions are highly
unpredictable. The ward itself is very
plain, functional, and imposing. It is not
comfortable. But the men in the ward
compensate for the boredom of the
rooms.

As we were leaving the cloak room I
was greeted by a young man who seemed
dazed and completely unaware of his
surroundings. Our conversation was brief
but revealing. He began,

"My name's Dick, what is your
name?"

"Alan Featherstone."

"Aberston?"

"No, Featherstone!"

"Are you an Indian?"

"Well...yes."

"I know your brother, I fed him my
toast and coffee this morning."

Going Easy

After thanking him for his hospitality
I went on to meet some of the other men
in the ward. About this time, two of the
other volunteers sat down to a few hands
of rummy with two other patients.

Mrs. Berry then asked me if I would
play ping-pong with Larry. Needing the
practice badly, I agreed. The game was
going quite well. Larry was going easy
with me and let me hit a few - luckily he
didn't know how to keep score. He began
to serve with increased vigor and at last,
with the skill of a champion and the
determination of the underdog, I smashed
the ball to the corner of the table sending
Larry in a leap to retrieve it. I laughed as
he missed and stumbled to the floor. I