Alice giggles, her face scrunched up in a grin as she holds Lexi, the Boston terrier.

“I love her. I miss her when she doesn’t come,” said Alice, whose family had a Boston terrier when she was growing up.

Another resident holds out her arms and calls out “my baby,” when Gregory Wing volunteer Holly Fulmer brings Lexi into her room.

For each of the residents on Fulmer’s rounds, Lexi is a source of uncomplicated affection, a bundle of warm fur who is always happy to see them.

A retired critical care nurse, Fulmer first began taking Lexi with her on patient visits to the Gregory Wing as a hospice volunteer. After seeing how enthusiastically residents responded to Lexi, she decided to train Lexi as a therapy dog.

Lexi received her certification from Therapy Dog International in June, and Fulmer and Lexi began seeing Gregory Wing patients three times a week as a team in August.

“It makes me feel good that Lexi and I can make a positive difference in the residents’ lives just by showing up,” said Fulmer.

Last year, volunteers gave more than 16,200 hours of their time to patients and residents throughout Lincoln County Healthcare. In monetary terms, it is a gift worth more than $365,000. For residents like Alice, however, the value of those hours is impossible to calculate.

Steve Hurd, Lincoln County Healthcare Volunteer Coordinator, said the main focus of the volunteer program at the Village is to improve the quality of life of residents and patients.

Whether it is the Boothbay Region Garden Club engaging residents in horticultural projects, area churches offering weekly chapel services or just spending time with residents, volunteers add a dimension to the lives of patients and residents that goes far beyond the clinical, helping them engage in familiar activities like gardening or worship that are deeply meaningful.

By assisting staff like Activities Director Jerie Phinney, volunteers also allow the Gregory Wing to offer greatly enriched programing. Volunteers assist Phinney with pizza making, reading, music and pet therapy among other activities.

For Fulmer, the chance to make a difference in people’s lives every day was something that she missed when she retired from nursing. As a volunteer, she can see the difference she makes every time she walks into one of her regulars’ rooms.

To residents like Louis, Lexi is a link to happier times.

From his wheelchair, Louis reaches up and hugs Lexi, closing his eyes in an ecstatic smile as she licks him. He tells a story about a puppy he adopted many years ago.

He can remember the deep sigh that puppy made when it settled down to sleep near his head. As he talks, Louis is somewhere far away, in a very happy place.

For more information about volunteering at Lincoln County Healthcare, call Connie Bright, director of volunteer services, at 207-563-4508.