Volunteers play an important role in assisting staff and making sure patients have the best possible experience.


NEW! Valleywise Health is looking for adult volunteers to support patients and guests at the new Valleywise Comprehensive Health Center – Peoria. Call (602) 344-5348 or fill out an application to get started.

Valleywise Health volunteers play a huge role in keeping our patients comfortable, happy and calm while also ensuring our facilities run smoothly and efficiently. There are many ways for volunteers to get involved, including reception, patient communication, transportation services and much, much more.

We are also happy to offer our patients special pet therapy and music enrichment thanks to our enthusiastic and compassionate volunteers. These services can play a major role in making our patients’ treatment more comfortable and easing their stress, anxiety, depression and fatigue.

In the year 2018, we had:

Contact total service hours

total service hours

Contact equivalent dollar value of volunteer time donated
$

equivalent dollar value of volunteer time donated

Contact volunteers

volunteers

Who Can Volunteer?

We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds, experience levels and skill sets. In fact, the diversity of our volunteers is essential to meet the individual needs of every unique person we serve.

Volunteer opportunities are available to adults age 18 or older, with a junior volunteer program available for 16- and 17-year-olds with parental consent. Opportunities are offered year-round at all Valleywise Health locations.

Please note that Valleywise Health does not participate in court-ordered community service or guarantee placement for job/certification programs. We also do not offer internship, externship or job shadow programs.

We prefer volunteers who can commit to sticking with us for a year or more, but a six-month 150-hour requirement is our designated minimum. Summer volunteers are welcome as long as they can complete a minimum of 50 hours of service between June 1 and August 31.

 

Where Can I Help?

Our volunteers have many different skills, backgrounds and interests, but the one thing they have in common is a commitment to community service. Our team will work to place you in a department that closely matches your interests with our needs.

Patient-Oriented Opportunities:

When you volunteer in a position that requires close interaction with our patients, you’re helping us create a more comfortable, calming and meaningful experience for them. If a position listed below seems like a good fit for you, we invite you to complete our volunteer application form.

Volunteers greet families and initiate communications between the clinical staff and visitors, providing compassionate assistance as needed.

Volunteers circulate throughout the department to ensure patient/family needs are met and may also assist with clerical roles as directed by staff.

If you can remain calm and level-headed in a crisis, this is the role for you. Volunteers will comfort, support and inform patients and their loved ones in addition to assisting the clinical staff with stocking, running errands, making beds or answering phones.

Volunteers check visitors in and out, answer phones, stock areas, make rounds with the snack cart and perform other tasks as directed by the staff.

As a volunteer in this unit, you would work under the direction of our Child Life Specialists to interact with children and families at the bedside or in the playroom. You may also be asked to help stock, answer phone or run errands.

Volunteers in this unit are a critical link among our medical staff, patients and families. As a surgical volunteer, you’ll assist with tasks that provide care and support for our patients and help ensure smooth communication as the patient moves through admission, the family waiting room, pre-op, the operating room and post-anesthesia care unit (PACU).

Volunteers assist the Radiology team by greeting and escorting both patients and families to and from different locations and appointments. They may also be asked to perform clerical tasks and assist the team with day-to-day activities as directed by the staff.

Love and company from a furry friend can often be the best medicine, and research strongly indicates that animal-assisted therapy helps healing and lessens depression and fatigue. In this role, you and your certified therapy pet will simply visit and play with patients, and in doing so, bring a huge amount of joy and excitement into their day. If your pet isn’t certified, ask us for more information on certifications.

Service-Oriented Opportunities:

If you’d prefer a role that allows you to interact with a variety of people, including patients, visitors, staff and others, you may be interested in one of our various service-oriented opportunities. These volunteers are essential to our patient wellness, accessibility and education. If you’re interested in learning more, please complete our volunteer application form.

This role would include greeting and assisting patients, visitors and others to help them feel more comfortable and provide them with accurate, helpful information and direction. Please note that this position requires a lot of walking.

Work with a team of Valleywise Health staff and volunteers to transport and discharge patients and/or take items from one department to another throughout the hospital. This is an active position that requires a lot of walking.

Volunteers circulate throughout the department to ensure that patient/family needs are met. They also assist with clerical roles (e.g. reminder phone calls, basic filing, etc.).

Volunteers will greet/escort visitors, provide clerical support as directed and assist staff with routine patient care tasks. The ideal volunteer should be able to communicate with diverse populations.

In this role, you will assist our pediatric patients, their families and their visitors in locating health information and community resources in books, videos and websites. You may also help with story times as well as arts and crafts for kids. Fluency in Spanish is helpful, but not required.

In this role, you may assist guests by making their visits more pleasant or assist staff with light office work (e.g. filing, making reminder phone calls, etc.). There is a lot of variety in this role.

Music therapy is known to ease anxiety and even reduce the perception of pain. In this role, you’ll have the opportunity to share your talent with those in need by rounding the patient floors in a variety of departments. You may also be asked to provide music in our common areas, such as the front lobby, dining area or other public areas. You will need to audition with the volunteer staff, and any instrument used should be provided by you.

Non-Interactive Opportunities:

These roles are just as important to the organization of our facilities and assurance of patient comfort as any of the patient-centric or service-oriented roles. If you’d prefer to volunteer with minimal patient interaction, check out our list of options below and fill out a volunteer application form.

This role consists of a variety of clerical tasks that are essential to keeping a hospital network functioning, including copying, answering phones, assembling packets, filing, data entry, assisting with projects and more. Typing and word processing skills are helpful, but not required.

Eager to volunteer but not able to commit to coming to the hospital campuses on a regular basis? One of these opportunities might be perfect for you:

  • Handcrafted items: Many patients feel chilly in the hospital, and a handcrafted blanket, shawl or pair of booties can bring warmth, a personal touch and comfort that they may otherwise be lacking. All handcrafted items must be unused and made from new materials.
  • Collection drives: Make a difference in the lives of our patients by collecting items and donating them to the hospital. We are often in need of the following items:
    • New or gently used books
    • Popular magazines dated within the last six months (Spanish-language magazines are also appreciated)
    • New puzzle books
    • New playing cards
    • Electronic hand-held games
    • New board games
    • New, unused personal hygiene products (sample/travel sizes)
    • Reading glasses of various strengths
    • New toys
    • New stuffed animals
    • New children’s books
    • New or gently used clothing (particularly men’s and women’s pants and shirts)

Questions?

If you have any questions about our volunteer opportunities or application process, fill out the form below or call (602) 344-5989.

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