Remember candy stripers?
Originating in the mid-1940s, candy stripers, typically teenage girls and young women, wore red-striped pinafores as they volunteered in hospitals delivering mail, books and magazines to patients and helping with the phones. Candy stripers aren’t as ubiquitous as they once were, though they still help out at plenty of hospitals, but volunteer opportunities are as robust and varied as ever. For example: Volunteers keep dying patients company, handle therapy dogs and provide musical entertainment. “The most precious gift that we can give to others is ourselves,” says Marianne Monek, director of volunteer services and patient relations at Sibley Memorial Hospital in the District of Columbia. Consider these ways to get involved:
Keep dying patients company
In hospitals nationwide, volunteers with the No One Dies Alone program stay with terminally ill patients who’ve outlived their family and friends, have no close relatives, have no family nearby or are estranged from their family. Many are unconscious or unresponsive. David Wynn, 61, has volunteered with the program at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California, for nine years. Relatives of people he and other volunteers are with in their final moments “are incredibly appreciative,” he says. “They’re so glad their loved one didn’t die alone.”
Make people laugh
At one California hospital, doctors aren’t the only ones on rounds. Joy Payne, a semi-retired professional jester, is in her 14th year participating in the “Clowns on Rounds” program at Torrance Memorial Medical Center in Torrance, California. “I like going to the public areas, greeting people,” she says. She and eight other volunteer clowns regularly stop by the pediatric and burn units, as well as whichever other patients request a visit. Payne, who helps train others how to become a hospital clown, knows that some people are fearful of clowns, especially if they appear unexpectedly. “We give them the space they need and clown around with other people,” she says.
Help people experiencing hair loss due to chemotherapy
Many patients who undergo chemotherapy experience hair loss. At Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, volunteers support patients undergoing outpatient chemotherapy deal with their hair loss by offering them an array of head coverings that are available through the Helping Hands program, says Mark Bailey, director of community engagement and volunteer programs. Volunteers provide patients with a selection of scarves, turbans and wigs. The patients can choose whichever item they like, he says. The items are donated or purchased with donated funds. The hospital typically has about 100 wigs in stock at a time and gives out hundreds of wigs and turbans annually.
Sew pillows
At Sibley Memorial Hospital, volunteers sew pillows to help patients healing from surgery, says Marianne Monek, director of volunteer services and patient relations. “Heart Pillow Project” volunteers have provided thousands of pillows to patients, including women who’ve undergone surgery for breast cancer and suffer from lymphedema — a buildup of excess fluid that’s a potential side effect of breast cancer surgery or radiation. Women can use the heart-shaped pillow to provide cushion when they use seat belts. One volunteer sews about 50 a month, and Girl Scout troops and other groups help, too. Volunteers also sew rectangular-shaped pillows for men recovering from serious procedures.
Cuddle opioid-addicted babies
The opioid scourge rampaging through the nation is even impacting the infants of mothers struggling with substance abuse. Boston Medical Center has created a program for people to cuddle infants born with neonatal abstinence syndrome, in which a baby is exposed to drugs in the womb and experiences symptoms of withdrawal, such as twitching, tremors and difficulty feeding. The program provides volunteers the chance to provide skin-to-skin contact to babies suffering from NAS and rock them when their moms aren’t available. The program has helped cut the average stay of a NAS infant from 19 to 9 days, says Elissa Snook, a spokeswoman for the medical center.
Escort hospital visitors
It’s easy for patients and other visitors to get lost in hospitals, which typically have multiple floors and dozens of departments. Volunteers at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, New York, help patients and other visitors get where they need to go, says Annemarie Fernandez, director of volunteer services. They make sure people coming into the hospital know how to get to their destination and walk them there if need be, she says. These volunteers need to know where everything is in the 435-bed, 4-floor hospital. “They’ll carry bags for patients and push wheelchairs,” Fernandez says. They often engage in conversation, which can help reduce patients’ anxiety.
Handle therapy dogs
Many hospitals provide visits by therapy dogs, each of which needs a human handler. At OhioHealth Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, 12 volunteer dogs and human handlers visit patients, visitors and staff, says Debbie Wilder, director of support and community services. Both canine and human volunteers undergo stringent orientation; the dogs undergo three to five months of training to be certified as a therapy dog. Canines must be well-behaved and have a calm temperament. “My beagle didn’t pass,” Wilder says. “He ate food off a tray.” The dogs are popular with patients, visitors and staff members. “The staff loves petting the dogs. It makes their day,” she says.
Provide musical entertainment
If you play a musical instrument or sing, there may be a volunteer opportunity at a hospital near you. Many hospitals provide volunteer musicians to entertain patients, visitors and staff. For instance, about 20 musically-skilled volunteers perform the acoustic guitar, cello, violin and piano at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital in West Bloomfield, Michigan, says Linda Smith, director of volunteer services. Some of the volunteers are teenagers. “On spring break, they come in every day,” she says. Such volunteers are different from certified music therapists, who often use their skills to help terminally ill patients.
Help pediatric patients and their parents
Many kids with cancer are understandably anxious before a radiation or chemotherapy treatment. At the pediatric oncology unit at Sibley Memorial, a volunteer plays with children awaiting treatment, typically chemotherapy or radiation, Monek says. “It gives the parents an opportunity to relax while waiting for what can be a very difficult experience,” she says. “She gets on the floor and plays with them or reads to them. It eases the anxiety of the children before their treatment.”
Deliver meals
Volunteers at Beaumont Hospital, Grosse Point in Grosse Point, Michigan, deliver meals to patients recently released from the facility or referred by a Beaumont Health physician and who live within one of four designated zip codes surrounding the hospital. In the “Meals for the Homebound” program, volunteers deliver between 20 and 25 meals a day prepared by the cafeteria staff. These include at least one protein, a vegetable and juice. Volunteers often visit with meal recipients for up to 30 minutes, says Betsy Schulte, director of volunteer services.
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10 Interesting Ways to Volunteer at a Hospital originally appeared on usnews.com
