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Volunteer Opportunities and Benefits

Often our volunteers are the first people to greet our patients, visitors and family members. Their friendly smiles and helpful assistance set the stage for a positive experience for everyone. They are the link to the community the hospital serves because they are part of that community.

There are many opportunities for volunteers in this role:

• providing patient services by greeting and escorting patients to their destinations
• brightening someone's day by delivering flowers and cards
• staffing the information desk both in the Main Lobby and the Emergency Department
• assisting in Patient Registration and Laboratory Services to greet and register patients
• assisting in the Joint Replacement Program
• participating in special social events and fundraising activities
• assisting with special health screenings and Fight the Flu Program
• serving customers in the Gift Shop
• assisting customers and processing donated items in the Select Seconds thrift shop (conveniently located in the Woodlawn Center at 8736 Richmond Highway - south of the hospital)

Additionally, there are other departments and units that depend on volunteers to lend their talent and expertise to everyday hospital operations:

Admitting Desk: Greet and log-in patients for diagnostic testing, outpatient surgery or hospital admissions. Some filing, as time permits.

Book Cart: Circulate a cart with books and magazines to hospital patients, and update magazines in the lobby areas.

Emergency Department Assistant: Assist emergency room staff by storing gurneys, bring needed items to patients. Assist family members and help with errands, as needed.

Emergency Department Lobby: Log flowers and gifts delivered to the hospital, sort mail and route it to the Escort Room to be delivered. Comfort patients in the Emergency waiting room.

Escort Service: Support the nursing units with requests of late meal trays, linen and medical supplies, pharmacy requirements or lab requests; assist with hospital admissions and discharges; deliver newspapers, flowers and mail to patients. This position requires a lot of walking.

Gift Shop: Shop is managed and staffed by volunteers who assist customers, order and price merchandise, inventory store and plan for seasonal items. Shop is open seven days a week.

Health Insurance Claims Assistance: This is a free service offered to hospital in-patients and some outpatients who have questions about physicians' bills, prescription drugs, laboratory and X-ray charges. Requires someone with an accounting/finance or bookkeeping background.

Hospital Support Projects: Computer related projects including upgrading hospital files, mailing lists, policy and procedures, and memos. Special skills are typing skills and some computer experience.

Human Resources Office: Assist in the Human Resource Department by answering telephones, taking messages, filing loose documents and other tasks, as needed by the department.

Information Desks: Main entrance and emergency entrance desks have volunteers who answer phone inquiries, direct visitors, and provide assistance to patients entering and leaving the hospital. Provide wheelchair assistance, as needed. Maintain a current census. Special need is to be willing to learn to use the computer.

Laboratory Desk: Act as a receptionist to greet patients and provide clerical support for the laboratory. Special need is to have a medical background.

Medical Library: Assist librarian in sorting mail, shelving books, answering telephones, photocopying and aiding visitors in locating materials.

Nursing Units: Assist nursing staff by storing linens, distributing food trays, making beds, visiting with patients to include reading, and helping with errands.

Radiology: Support patients waiting for diagnostic procedures, bring blankets, reading material and provide company. Deliver paperwork, collect films and answer telephones.

Secretarial Support Projects: Assist departments within the hospital with loose document filing, photo copying, answering telephones, greeting/assisting employees/visitors in the department, taking and routing messages.

Surgical Liaison: Guide patients through a pre-op schedule of tests and interviews preparatory to joint replacement.

Thrift Shop: Select Seconds is located in the Woodlawn Shopping Center on Richmond Highway. It is managed and staffed by volunteers who sort, price, shelve, store and sell merchandise. All stock is donated, and donations are appreciated.

Volunteer Office: Works in the volunteer office to assist with computing volunteer hours, updating mailing lists, updating volunteer assignment areas and special projects.

Volunteer Benefits HealthSource classes: Volunteers receive reduced rates for all Inova HealthSource classes, which include health and wellness, smoking cessation, exercise, diet and parenting classes.

Cafeteria discounts

Celebrations and hospital events: Included in hospital events and celebrations.

Blood Assurance Coverage under the Inova Mount Vernon Hospital Auxiliary. Yearly donations by volunteer members must equal 15 percent of the total group membership and will extend full protection to all members and their families (to include member's spouses, all dependent children and the parents of both member and spouse). A Blood Assurance Pledge Sheet is available in the Volunteer Services office.