Harry Chapin Food Bank pantry volunteer Adele Ramirez with fellow volunteer Kathleen. -JON COHN / FLORIDA WEEKLY
Sleep can be a rare commodity for Naples resident Adele Ramirez.
She works the overnight shift in the Intensive Care Unit for Gulf Coast Lee Health, and then on certain days goes directly from there in the early morning hours over to a volunteer shift helping needy families to get food at one of the Harry Chapin food distribution sites.
There is not much time in between. Often, she will report for volunteering still wearing her blue scrub medical pants from the previous night’s work. No time to change for the busy Ramirez. But she is there, on time, every time, and ready to help wherever needed.
Adele Ramirez knows the value of Harry Chapin Food Bank more than most volunteers.
“When I moved here from Mexico”, she remembers, “I used their services and was able to get some much-needed food assistance at that time. So, when I saw an opportunity later on to give some help to others that might be in my same situation, I was happy to do that”.
Ramirez first started volunteering for Harry Chapin right after Hurricane Irma. She and her sister heard about a big distribution event to be held at The New Hope Church, and they decided to give it a try.
“I really enjoyed it,” says Ramirez, “just being able to help out all these folks who were so badly in need at the time, and it really got me interested in doing even more.”
She started to volunteer regularly in Immokalee and at Golden Gate, and she specialized in not only the normal volunteer duties, but also in helping those who did not speak English.
Her knowledge of Spanish from growing up in Mexico allowed her to assist and help out many of the residents who without her translation help might be confused, not sure how to register or sign up and maybe even not be able to receive their allotted food.
Now, many years later, she continues her volunteer work and has become a truly dedicated and valuable on-site volunteer for Harry Chapin.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch as the expression might go, Ramirez’s full time job is in the pressure cooker that is the Intensive Care Unit at Gulf Coast Lee Health.
She has been doing this for four years now, but the journey to get there has been quite interesting.
As stated earlier, although born in Georgia, she was raised and grew up in Mexico. Moving to the United States in 2012, and still in her early 20’s, Ramirez got her first job here as a part time nursing assistant.
This piqued her interest in a career in nursing, and she started to enroll in night school, while still doing her day job.
She worked hard and received her bachelor’s degree from Hodgkins University and soon became a full-time certified nursing assistant, CNA.
“I received a lot of help,” Ramirez recalls, “getting some scholarship assistance from AAUW (The American Association of University Women) and The United Way.”
She began at Gulf Coast Lee Health as a nurse on the regular floor and started right around the period of the Covid outbreak. Needless to say, there was more than a little bit of activity on the main floor.
But the active, energetic and involved Ramirez has what you might call a little bit of “career wanderlust.” She soon, started to wonder about an even more challenging nursing pursuit.
“Through those Covid years,” explains Ramirez, “I would notice how the emergency units would perform their jobs. They would come into our area, and the Rapid Response teams were always so efficient and impressive. I started to think maybe that was what I should be doing.”
So, Ramirez applied to work in the ICU, and not long after she was accepted and made the move to the most intense, and pressure packed area of the hospital.
“I adjusted pretty well right off the bat,” says Ramirez, “and kind of enjoyed the challenge of working the night shift.”
She adjusted so well, that now just four years later she helps to supervise and train other nurses.
“I enjoy working with the new graduates that come in,” she says, “getting them used to the ICU unit and the hospital in general.”
In addition, Ramirez has joined a hospital committee that is doing extensive research with some real breakthrough results in the area of preventing bed sores—a major problem for patients who have long stays in the hospital.
All in all, quite the busy schedule for this endlessly energetic young lady.
But make no mistake, Adele Ramirez has had a real positive impact during her time here in Naples, and in Lee
Jon Cohn. -FLORIDA WEEKLY
and Collier counties.
So, if you see a volunteer a little red around the eyes, and wearing blue medical scrubs at one of the Harry Chapin volunteer locations helping some of the folks in the waiting line?
Stop over and say hello. There’s a good chance that will be Adele.
Maybe even add in a “thank you” for all you do.
Jon Cohn is a native Chicagoan, now living primarily in Naples. He has been a teacher, coach, and sports announcer for many years. He has authored three books and currently spends his time trying to avoid any nearby golf courses and volunteering in Southwest Florida.