Lifestyle Dolly Hintz: Still Helping Patients’ Families 2/25/2025 | By Terri L. Jones “No matter how many people you know, it’s better to know even more,” says Dolly Hintz. “Each one adds a little bit to your well-being.” The 90-year-old Hintz has met many people over the past 40 years as co-founder of The Doorways, which serves as home away from home for patients and their families who travel to Richmond for medical treatment. In 1983, Hintz, a former nurse, was volunteering at what was then known as Medical College of Virginia. Now VCU Medical Center Auxiliary, the Richmond organization provides support to hospital patients, visitors, and staff. Hintz witnessed family members of hospital patients sleeping in lobbies, eating meals from vending machines, and washing their clothes and themselves in the hospital restrooms. That sight disturbed Hintz and other auxiliary members. “We knew we could do more for them,” she explains, “so we did.” After a lot of research, fundraising, and location scouting, the Auxiliary founded The Hospital Hospitality House of Richmond – now The Doorways – which opened its doors to guests in 1984. Over the past four decades, cofounder Dolly Hintz has watched The Doorways grow – from an old VCU dormitory that accommodated just 28 family members to a large renovated hotel with 117 guestrooms plus kitchens and laundry facilities. Becoming the largest donation-based lodging facility of its kind in the U.S., it now serves not only families of patients but also outpatients receiving long-term treatments or awaiting transplant procedures. It has also expanded beyond VCU Health facilities to include patients of several other local hospitals and healthcare facilities. Related: The Health Benefits of Volunteering Alongside The Doorways’ evolution, Hintz, who was president of the board until 1994, has experienced her own personal growth. “I had had no experience with fundraising, public speaking, or planning. It gave me more self-confidence,” she says. Nowadays, the self-described “matriarch” of The Doorways has become a spokesperson, appearing in commercials, doing interviews, and speaking about The Doorways in the community. While she misses interacting with the guests and staff on a regular basis, Hintz says she does whatever she can to promote the organization’s mission in the community. But The Doorways is hardly Hintz’s only volunteer involvement. She’s on several committees at Cedarfield, the senior living community where she lives, serving on the editorial board for the quarterly magazine and participating in a variety of other initiatives. Plus, she serves on the Medical College of Virginia Foundation Board. “You’d think at 90 my life wouldn’t be so busy,” Dolly Hintz says with a laugh. When she gets some time, the active senior plans to pursue drawing cartoons again, a hobby she enjoyed years ago, creating humorous drawings and poems for people’s birthdays. She also loves to read, spend time with family, and knit (“My four kids, their spouses, and all 13 grandchildren have Christmas stockings I made for them.”). While The Doorways exists in large part because of its cofounder’s vision and hard work, Hintz is incredibly humble about her contribution. “You come up with an idea, but hundreds of people have made it happen. Over the years, there have been so many volunteers, so many donors, and so many staff members who have created this haven for people,” she says. “And it gets better and better every day!” Learn more about The Doorways here Read More Terri L. Jones Terri L. Jones has been writing educational and informative topics for the senior industry for over 10 years, and is a frequent and longtime contributor to Seniors Guide.