Taking the Client’s Perspective in Designing Volunteer Roles

Responses to:
Taking the Client’s Perspective in Designing Volunteer Roles

Submitted October 26, 2009 by Gerald (Jerry) Pannozzo, CVA, NYMH and KJMC, New York, US
Good to read that you are on the mend. I read your hot topic with interest because I returned to health care six years ago. I only wish you had experienced some of the innovative healthcare volunteer programs here in NYC.

Yes, it starts with the patient (and the family members) experience. I agree you need to get out of the office and observe what is happening on the units, in the wait rooms, etc. Monitoring the needs on the units includes communication with paid staff and observing patients, family members, and visitors. The volunteers' eyes and ears are a great asset with regard to innovation.

I've seen emergency department patient experiences enhanced thanks to innovative volunteer position descriptions. Because of effective volunteer department relationships with paid staff I've seen programs implemented that include pet therapy, artists, musicians, yoga instructors, etc. on the units making the hospital stay a better experience. Such programs also reduce the stress the paid staff is under -- which impacts the patient experience. What about wait rooms? Here in NYC several hospitals have introduced health literacy volunteers. Theses conversations/sessions in wait rooms make the wait time an "educational opportunity" vs. "time lost." (Thanks to grants proved through United Hospital Fund). Health Literacy volunteers also write down questions for the doctors (that the volunteer is not qualified to answer) so the patient doesn't forget them when seeing the doctor.

Thanks for sharing your experience that provides us with an "opportunity" to review (and amend) what is happening in health care.

Submitted October 21, 2009 by Thomas McKee, Volunteer Power www.volunteerpower.com
Thank you Susan for your insightful challenge. Last month I was speaking to a state-wide association of healthcare directors of auxilians and volunteers and many expressed to me the concerns you mentioned. They kept telling me that growing numbers of their volunteers have professional skills the hospital could use, but the health care administrators are very traditional and want to limit their volunteers to greeting visitors and delivering flowers to patients. I was reminded again that directors of volunteers are not just managers -- recruiting, retaining and rewarding volunteers. We are leaders and leaders make change. And making change is not easy. A significant leadership role of the director of volunteers is to challenge the traditional leadership of the organization. Thanks for challenging us again. And so sorry to hear about your accident. Hope you are healing well.

Submitted October 12, 2009 by Jo Drueke, Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital,
Lincoln, NE USA
Thank you Susan for this Hot Topic! What an awesome reminder to get out and discover what patients and family members experience. Often I feel like it is a battle to get staff to accept new roles for volunteers, but finding new roles provides opportunities for educating about the roles and potential service by volunteers. With the current changes in our building it is an opportunity for change which I do not want to miss. I will be "walking the halls" more than ever looking for ways that volunteers can improve the Madonna experience.

Submitted October 6, 2009 by DJ Cronin, Greenslopes Private Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
Susan - Here is what you might have experienced if you had been admitted to our facility. You would have been initially greeted by our volunteer team on arrival and escorted to any appointment by one or two volunteers. During your stay you would have been offered a hand and/or foot massage by a volunteer. You would have received a volunteer visitor who would ask if you needed anything and who could have sat and chatted with you if so desired. During your time here you would then have met the volunteers with our mobile library. If you had any spiritual needs you would have been made aware that volunteer chaplains of various denominations were just a call away. If you were deemed fit enough by a physio to exercise and take a walk around our facility you would have been accompanied by a volunteer who would take you on a walk and perhaps show you our hospital museum and a video on its history including the history of volunteering here. You would have passed our information desk and discovered that there is more than one volunteer (of various age) and that people are being escorted to their destination rather than given confusing directions. You would also see that a Justice of the Peace service was being provided by volunteers at this desk and volunteers were also answering queries on local accommodation and train and bus travel options. Volunteers at the information desk could also look up a patient for you and inform you what ward they were located in because with us the "confidentiality issue" is addressed through education on this matter, signing of confidentiality agreements and exactly the same processes we abide with paid staff. Best of all, our volunteers at the information desk are our best recruiters for our service. They give out brochures and information packs on volunteering. So, Susan you might even have been asked if you would like to be part of our team! On Discharge you would have a volunteer come to your room, help you pack if need be and escort you to the discharge lounge and help you to arrange transport if need be. You would also be informed about volunteer transport options. You would have been surprised by the age and cultural diversity of our volunteers. You would have encountered high school and university students as well as various people volunteering for a myriad of reasons. During your stay you might have shared some of your wonderful observations that you shared in this article with one of our volunteers. This volunteer would have asked you if they could share your suggestions and had you agreed the volunteer would have approached the Volunteer Liaison Committee with your ideas. The volunteer liaison committee meets once a month and is comprised of volunteers from each service, the volunteer management team and a member of hospital executive. On of the aims of this committee is to give a strong voice to volunteers who are after all close to the clients perspective and thereby continuously offering ways we can improve our volunteer service.

Now that I got a plug in about our volunteer service I will take your suggestions to the committee and also share them with my network of Volunteer managers in a health setting.

Bravo!

Submitted October 6, 2009 by Johanna Duffek, Tucson, AZ, US
Wonderful article, thank you. I am President of the Southern Arizona Volunteer Management Association (SAVMA) and we are always talking about the issue of using volunteers to their fullest potential. This is a good example of how to do that very thing.

Submitted October 6, 2009 by Ruth, Kentwood, MI, US
Thanks Susan. I am thankful that our hospital is doing at least 50% of what you recommended, but there is room for improvement.

But your article reminded me of the work we do with local indigenous partners overseas. So often as international NGOs, we spend time on what works best for us and our volunteers, versus what works best for our partners in their cultural settings.

Submitted October 6, 2009 by Andy Fryar, Lyell McEwin Regional Volunteer Assoc., Adelaide, Australia
Great Hot Topic Susan. Another perspective you may be interested in (well here in my small part of Australia at least) is the growing emphasis on involving volunteers in primary health care services.

Our Volunteer Association has been receiving more and more enquiries over the last few years to support volunteer programs whose aim it is to keep people from getting sick in the first place. Between that and the growing need to support day surgery patients, health care is indeed changing at a fast rate of knots.

Submitted October 1, 2009 by Catherine McMullen, CAVS, Somerset Medical Center, Somerville, NJ, USA
How different my hospital experiences appear! I have worked in 2 hospitals for over 25 years, volunteered in 3 others, and had leadership roles at state and national levels. I offer 50 positions to my 850 volunteers; only 30% are over age 65, many over 80 are among the most active and bright. 32 volunteer in the ER to be with patients who are alone, 19 are trained to sit with patients who are dying & have no family. Volunteer patient advocates do ask what they can do for patients; they serve on patient satisfaction committees where their input is valued. Our 350 bed facility has 1000 visitors and 300 telephone calls per day, with many information desk resources available to offer people;I have concierges in main and ER lobbies. Gift shops provide important revenue sources, as well as services to employees as well as visitors. I, and other DVSs, would be happy to continue this discussion with you or the staff where you were treated. I am glad you are recovering well. And having survived a brain tumor & craniotomy, I am very familiar with the patient persepctive in many renowned hospitals. All sides face challenges. I am eagerly awaiting additional responses to your topic.

Submitted October 1, 2009 by Cara Thenot, Director of Publisihing, Energize Inc., Philadelphia, PA US
After talking about the new Hot Topic in the office, Susan asked me to post a personal anecdote that emphasizes her point and focuses on the growing elderly population that will only get bigger as the baby boomers age and, in general, people are living longer. Here's my story:

After my 89-year-old grandfather was admitted to the hospital with a high fever, hospital staff told my 83-year-old grandmother that should/could not stay and sent her out the door to drive home by herself late at night. No one thought to ask if she had any issues herself that would make driving dangerous. (She has Alzheimer's disease and has night blindness due to cataracts.) The good news is that she made it home safely, with only a few nerves rattled. However, we need to start paying attention to our older generation. I can imagine an entire volunteer "department" created just for attending to elderly patients and their families.

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