Volunteers

Introduction and Alignment

The patient experience - what the customer feels about the quality and compassion offered - can be influenced by factors not related to medical science. In addition, volunteers provide valuable services to a hospital that augment the environment of caring. The mere presence of a healthcare facility may not, however, be impetus enough to draw a pool of volunteers. The institution's marketing efforts must tell a story that conveys the value and rewards of volunteering.

In this assignment you examine how healthcare organizations position themselves to recruit volunteers, what activities those volunteers perform, and how this contributes to the mission and marketing portfolio of the institution.

Upon completion of this assignment, you should be able to:

• Evaluate the needs and perspectives of patients and families in accessing and using healthcare.
• Discuss the utility of social networking and communication media in promoting the values and goals of the healthcare institution.
• Define the value of volunteer engagement.

Resources

• None

Background Information

Volunteers can often be found at the hospital information desk or the gift shop. They may provide administrative or other support services, such as transporting small items from unit to unit such as flowers, medical records, laboratory specimens, and medicines. Volunteers often help visitors and spend social time with patients.

Many hospitals sponsor volunteer programs as an introduction to a career in healthcare. In these programs, individuals are often termed Candy Stripers, reflecting the distinctive red and white uniforms once worn by the volunteers.

The first Candy Stripers were high school students performing a civics class project at East Orange (NJ) General Hospital in 1944. The uniforms were sewn by the girls in the class from material provided by the teacher, a red-and-white-striped fabric known as "candy stripe"; hence, the name.

In the United States, private, nonprofit hospitals are called voluntary hospitals. These represent the majority of domestic facilities. The governance of these institutions - boards of directors, regents, or overseers - is provided by volunteers. Here again, the ability to define the value of the institution drives its success within the community. Healthcare marketing drives this process.

Instructions

1. Conduct an Internet search on the term "hospital volunteer." Select three different hospitals or health systems (excluding the Mayo and Cleveland Clinic systems), and then review what their websites say about volunteers.
2. In a three-page paper, describe the types of activities hospital volunteers perform, and then answer these questions:
3. What does this work contribute to the hospital?
4. What benefit does the hospital volunteer gain?
5. What role does marketing have in recruiting volunteers?
6. Compare these sites to the healthcare organization where you are employed or to a healthcare organization where you might find yourself as a patient.
7. When you have completed your assignment, save a copy for yourself and submit a copy to your instructor using the Dropbox by the end of the workshop.