Teen volunteers more than 200 hours in ICU, launches nonprofit to support patients amid healthcare worker shortage
By Alexa Liacko
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MARIETTA, Georgia (WUPA) — As Georgia faces a growing shortage of healthcare workers, one local teenager is already stepping in to help fill the gap — while bringing comfort to patients during some of their most difficult moments.
Inside the intensive care unit at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, the stakes are high and the environment can be overwhelming.
“It is a very stressful place,” said Aryan Agar, a student volunteer. “Every time I come here, there’s always some alarms going on in the background…there’s always patients who need something. Patients calling for help.”
Amid the constant beeping of monitors and the urgency of medical care, Agar noticed something beyond the clinical needs.
“I had come to realize that a lot of the patients here are lonely, and sometimes their morale is down,” he said.
Agar has spent more than 200 hours volunteering at the hospital through “Volunteens,” a student program designed to introduce young people to careers in healthcare. While volunteers often assist with tasks like answering phones and stocking supplies, Agar sought to make a more personal impact.
He founded a nonprofit organization called Critical Kindness, which provides care kits to ICU patients.
“Just something that can hopefully kind of make the day better for some of these patients who are in here in some of their most trying times,” Agar said.
Hospital staff say the effort goes a long way in improving patient experience.
“It makes a patient feel very safe. It makes them feel heard and listened to and really well cared for,” said Stephanie Hill, a nurse at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital.
Each care kit is simple but meaningful, aimed at offering comfort and a sense of connection in an otherwise isolating environment.
Aryan said the experience has also shaped him personally.
“Since I’ve been here, I definitely think that I’ve matured,” he said. “I’ve kind of come to face the issues that face our population today.”
Hospital leaders say programs like Volunteens are critical as the healthcare industry grapples with staffing shortages.
“What we want to do is have a pipeline for future employees,” said Amy Saye of Wellstar Kennestone Hospital. “We are in desperate need of nurses, radiology care professionals, medical assistants… there’s so many positions that we have need of.”
Agar hopes to one day become an oncologist and continue helping others.
“Saving lives has always been a big part of my dreams,” he said. “Hopefully I can inspire other people my age, or any age, to start something like this.”
His mother, Swati Gopalan, said his passion extends beyond the hospital walls.
“He wants to save lives in the medical environment and outside of it as well,” she said. “He’s a lifeguard and also a fire cadet in Cobb County, where he’s learning the same skills firefighters use to save lives. It means a lot that he’s trying to do so much for the community.”
Saye said Agar represents the promise of the next generation of healthcare workers.
“We are in good hands. We have so much to look forward to,” she said. “We can continue to invest in them, trust them, give them our time and our resources. And I promise you they are going to do great things.”
Wellstar officials say the Volunteens program has grown increasingly competitive, now receiving far more applications than it can accept — an encouraging sign that many young people are ready to answer the call to serve.
For Agar, that calling is already clear: making a difference, one patient at a time.
Applications for the program can be found on the Wellstar website.
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