Meet Ginny and Judy, Tipton Hospital's Monday morning volunteer duo

Every Monday morning at IU Health Tipton Hospital, while the halls are still quiet and the day is just beginning, two women are already in motion.

Virginia Downhower and Judith Watts, better known as Ginny and Judy, volunteer together each Monday. After their first order of business—checking the menu to see what’s for lunch—the duo dives into a variety of tasks: assisting with the food pantry, organizing old files, tidying up closets and lending a hand to their supervisor Danielle Atkisson and community outreach consultant Crissy Proffitt. They’ve even been asked to wash a truck—a request they politely declined.

Downhower and Watts say volunteering together gives them companionship and a chance to make someone’s day a little easier, but they didn’t start out as a team. In fact, they hadn’t met before their paths crossed at Tipton Hospital.

Downhower began in 2008, first leading craft activities with swing bed patients before joining Watts in the basement to assemble patient charts.

Watts had already been volunteering since 2004, not long after retiring. Wanting something meaningful to fill her time, she was drawn to volunteering because she enjoys helping people.

Their paths may have started separately, but it didn’t take long for the two women to become a team.

When asked what’s kept them at the hospital for so many years, Watts was quick to jump in.

“Well, one thing is, I met Ginny,” she says. “The lady that used to work with me—she had gotten sick and couldn’t [continue], so they sent Ginny down, and we just clicked.”

Downhower says she and Watts complement each other well, balancing each other’s strengths and working seamlessly as a team. But their bond goes far beyond Monday mornings at the hospital.

The two are prayer partners, regularly checking in on each other and sharing their faith. Watts didn’t grow up with sisters, so she views Downhower as the sister she never had —a bond that’s become one of the most meaningful parts of their time at Tipton.

“I think God knew we needed each other,” Watts says.

Their connection to the hospital isn’t just through volunteering—it’s woven into their family stories.

Watts’ daughter works in shipping and receiving at Tipton, and it was she who first brought home a volunteer application for her mother.

Downhower’s ties go back even further. Both of her sons were born at Tipton Hospital, back when the hospital didn’t have air conditioning.

It’s just one of the many changes the two have witnessed over the years as the hospital has grown and evolved. But the sense of community and the incredible people, they say, have remained the same.

Downhower recalled the care her late husband received during twice-daily antibiotic infusions—how the nurses became familiar faces, and one even became a lifelong friend.

What stands out to Watts is the personal touch team members bring to their work. With its friendly atmosphere, Tipton Hospital often feels more like a neighborhood gathering than a clinical setting, where team members are also neighbors, friends and community members.

It's that spirit of connection and care that Downhower and Watts hope future volunteers will experience for themselves. Their message is simple: “Come join us.”