Longtime Sheridan Memorial Hospital Hospice volunteer Sandy Browne received the Wyoming Hospital Association’s 2026 Volunteer of the Year award during the organization’s annual meeting in Cheyenne on Sept. 9 – 10, 2026.
“Sandy represents the very heart of hospice: presence, compassion, dignity, faith and service,” Sheridan Memorial Hospital Director of Nursing Ann Aksamit, BSN, RN, CHPN, said during the meeting. “It is our privilege to celebrate her and honor her extraordinary commitment to hospice patients, families and our community.”
Browne became a registered nurse in 1971. She met her husband, Rick, while he was stationed with the Army in northern Virginia, and the two moved to Rick’s hometown of Sheridan and married in 1972. After living in several other states, the couple eventually settled permanently in Sheridan, where Browne worked primarily in acute and long-term psychiatric care at the Sheridan VA Medical Center.
After witnessing firsthand the compassion and support a family member received through hospice care on the East Coast in 1996, Browne promised she would honor them by giving back as a hospice volunteer. When she returned to Sheridan, she completed volunteer training in 1997 and began nearly 30 years of dedicated service to Sheridan’s hospice patients and their families — a commitment she maintained while working part time until 2011 and raising three children.
Over the last 29 years, Browne has read to patients, held the hands of family members, listened to stories and provided companionship and dignity to individuals at the end of their lives.
Her service extends beyond the bedside. Browne also provides respite for families and caregivers, sits vigil with patients in the hospital and participates in Hospice’s semiannual Remembrance Memorial services.
“After nearly three decades, her compassion has not dimmed and her commitment has not wavered,” Hospice social worker and volunteer coordinator Kalista Sadler, MSW, PCSW, said in a letter nominating Browne for the award. “She continues to show up with the same kindness, humility and purpose that she brought on her very first day in 1997.”
Browne brings that came commitment to serving others throughout the community. She is also a longtime elder in her Presbyterian church, where she helps pack food bags for The Food Group, brings communion to members who are unable to attend services in period and helps clean up after services. She also provides groceries and companionship to a friend.
When asked what motivates her to continue serving others, Browne offered a simple answer: “It’s just what you do.”
Her advice to those considering becoming Hospice volunteers is equally straightforward.
“If you are interested in doing it, do it,” Browne said. “It will reward you more than you ever reward those you serve.”
Interested in volunteering at SMH? Contact Foundation and Volunteer Coordinator Lauren Martinsen at 307.675.4629 or laurenmartinsen@sheridanhospital.org to learn more about volunteer opportunities.