How Small Gestures Have Rehumanized a Hospital Hallway

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Brooks Tang. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

In the rooms and hallways of Henderson and West Henderson Hospitals, which can often be high-pressure environments, teenager Yizhang (Brooks) Tang dedicated over 700 hours of service to patient care and comfort. Brooks, an aspiring physician, recognized that while medicine treats the body, the spirit often requires a different kind of intervention. This realization led to “Daily Dignity-Care Rounds,” a program he pioneered to address the often-overlooked details of patient life. By delivering simple items like warm towels, lip balm and glasses-cleaning kits, Brooks restored a sense of self to those confined to hospital beds.

Brooks served as a social and emotional bridge between the bedside and the nursing station. On average, he committed 12 hours every week to checking in on patients, offering a listening ear that helped dissolve the fog of loneliness and stress. From grabbing a cool beverage for a patient to facilitating clearer communication between families and their medical doctors, Brooks ensured that patient concerns were heard and addressed with urgency. This non-clinical support allowed registered nurses to focus their expertise on critical medical tasks.

Additionally, during his time at the hospital, Brooks tackled the logistical backbone of the facility by assisting with transport and supply management. With his effort and warm attitude, he helped improve the overall responsiveness of the medical staff. His work evolved from a solo effort into a leadership mission, as he eventually trained other volunteers in the art of service. Ultimately, Brooks has reminded an entire healthcare community that healing is a holistic endeavor. He’s helped transform the hospital environment into a more human-centered space – where patients are seen as individuals rather than just room numbers.

Tell us about your volunteer role.

I’m a former volunteer at Henderson Hospital in Henderson, Nevada, where I focused on supporting patients, helping them feel more comfortable and at ease. Much of my time was spent sitting with patients to offer conversation, helping those with limited mobility contact family members, addressing small concerns that affected their comfort and being present for patients during their stay.

When I first started, my role mainly involved providing conversation and helping facilitate communication between patients and nurses. Over time, I took on additional responsibilities that supported patients’ day-to-day comfort, such as distributing snacks and beverages, offering hot towels and helping clean or adjust glasses. I also worked on improving my ASL skills to better communicate with deaf patients, and explored simple ways to make communication more accessible, such as using a stethoscope to help amplify sound for a hard-of-hearing patient or adding tactile markers to controls for patients with visual impairments.

Through this experience, I came to better understand how important small details can be in a patient’s overall experience. While clinical care is the most essential part of a patient’s stay, patients are often also dealing with fear, uncertainty or discomfort. I tried to contribute in small ways to make the environment feel more supportive and responsive to their needs and their personal needs. For example, I once helped a patient with limited dexterity reorder a meal that was easier for him to eat.

I also assisted with relaying patient concerns to nurses, when appropriate, and helped with nonclinical tasks, which consisted of answering phones, stocking areas, transporting patients when they were discharged, and bringing food and water. These small contributions helped support both patients and staff, and showed me how teamwork plays a role in patient care. Over time, I became a team lead and assisted with training new volunteers.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

I started this work because I realized how difficult a hospital stay can be. Specifically, I saw that a hospital stay can remove parts of a person’s dignity. If you are hospitalized, you often don’t get to wear your own clothes, don’t control the course of the day and you are far from family. Through our work, I help provide dignity by caring for small needs, provide conversation and help connect patients to their families.

What are your long-term plans or goals with medicine?

Volunteering at Henderson Hospital has been a wonderful experience that has made me grow into a more thoughtful and emotionally present person. I believe this supports my long-term goal of becoming a physician that advocates, supports and affirms my patients’ needs beyond clinical care. I actually hope to work at this hospital a decade down the line. Not only would that be an epic story – volunteer to physician at the same hospital – but I truly believe this hospital provides amazing care from amazing people.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

The most rewarding part has been the influence on the families and patients I interact with. For example, I’ve sat at the bedside of patients undergoing chemotherapy, waiting for organ transplants or simply just frustrated with everything that’s going on in their health. Through conversing and affirming these patient’s circumstances, they often report feeling more understood and being seen.

In one specific example, we had coloring books with crayons for the patients. I talked to this patient struggling with breast cancer. We discussed how although her condition was improving, she had spent so much time in and out of hospitals she felt she had lost autonomy in her life. Later, my small team of volunteers and I drew a rainbow in a field with the phrase “everything will be sunshine and rainbows” for her. She told us how much hope she held, yet how difficult the present was. Before leaving for the day, we saw her embrace and tear up over our drawing and carefully stowing it away in her purse.

What have you learned through your experiences volunteering?

Volunteering has made me grow into a more thoughtful and emotionally responsive person. Before volunteering at Henderson Hospital, it was hard sometimes to know what to say to someone struggling. Comforting anyone, as I learned, is about unconditionally reflecting the person’s feelings, their circumstances and the impact a disease or event has had. This doesn’t mean following a script or saying the “perfect” thing, it’s about taking a walk in their shoes to understand where they come from.

Volunteering has also helped me develop a deeper sense of empathy and understanding for all people. You truly don’t know what someone might be going through, but even so, people don’t need to be going through anything to deserve grace.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

Because it helps form you into a better person and supports the good in your community. The day I started volunteering is vastly different from the person I am today, and it’s simply because these experiences have challenged me to grow. Not only does volunteering directly impact your community, you encourage other people in your community to do good when they see good. For example, I’ve seen multiple patients inquire about volunteering or ask for information because they spotted the work we do. It really can be transformative for you and your community.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

Realize that any anxiety or hesitation you may have to start something, tackle a challenge or join an organization is very likely a definitive sign you are stepping into something that’s both real, and likely to challenge and curate personal growth for you. Go do!

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Brooks? Find local volunteer opportunities.