Volunteering at Cooper
Cooper volunteers are men and women from your community who care about Cooper and contribute their time and energy to assist the hospital in a wide variety of activities. Cooper also has a student volunteer program for those between the ages of 14 and 18 (students must be in or about to enter 9th grade). Student volunteers often select their assignments according to their career goals and interest.
Cooper volunteers contribute their skills, time and energy to more than 50 different assignments. Here is just a sampling of their varied service responsibilities throughout the hospital:
- Welcoming and escorting new patients to their rooms Transporting patients to and from testing areas
- Assisting patients in various hospital departments and on nursing floors
- Surveying patients through the Patient Relations Department
- Bringing a selection of books, magazines and gift items to the patients at their bedsides
- Providing information and assistance to visitors at the Information Desk
- Child Life Program - assisting pediatric patients in recreational play and education
- Cuddling Program - holding, feeding, and comforting babies in the newborn nursery
- Serving as a communications link between the nursing staff and the families of surgery patients in the Surgical Patient Waiting Room
- Working in the Hospital Gift Shop
- Typing, filling, photocopying, collating and other clerical work
- Sorting, marking, packaging and delivering supplies
- Assisting in staff mailings
- Answering telephones
- Running errands and delivering small packages
Prospective volunteers must make an appointment for a personal interview with the Director of Volunteers or the Volunteer Assistant. In this interview, you will discuss your needs and those of the hospital. We will then suggest a mutually rewarding volunteer position for you. As soon as we've matched you with a suitable position, we will schedule you with the department in which you will be working. At that time we will discuss your time commitment and job.
To schedule an interview, contact the Volunteer Department at (856) 342-2995.
All volunteers will participate in an orientation program. Training is provided on the job by the hospital staff or by other volunteers. In addition to verbal instructions, departments and services have written job descriptions to help define the volunteer's duties.
Important Guidelines for Volunteering at Cooper
Attendance
Volunteers are a vital part of Cooper and we count on you being here when you're scheduled. Therefore, if you are unable to be here on your scheduled day, please notify the Volunteer Office as soon as possible so that a substitute may be found. (You, in turn, may occasionally be asked to substitute for another volunteer.) If you plan to take a vacation, please notify the Volunteer Office as soon as you know the dates that you will be away.
Signing In
Please report to the Volunteer Office at your assigned time. Be sure to sign in when you arrive and sign in when you leave. Sign-in sheets are used to record your volunteer hours and attendance. We use this information to honor your volunteer achievements.
Assignments
As a volunteer, you are directly responsible to the department to which you have been assigned. Sometimes a change of assignment is necessary, either for your convenience or to meet the changing demands of the hospital. Please do not change assignments unless you have made arrangements to do so with the Volunteer Office. Please remember that unless asked you are not permitted in maternity, newborn, nursery, the intensive care unit or the operating rooms.
Terminations of Service
It sometimes happens that your service does not meet your needs or those of the hospital. In that case you or Cooper may decide to discontinue your services as a volunteer. Your volunteer service may also be discontinued if you are frequently absent, have more then three unannounced absences, or do not comply with general hospital and volunteer regulations. If you decide to discontinue your volunteer work, please inform the Volunteer Office as far in advance as possible.
Appearance
Volunteers wear a uniform that is either a smock, a jumper or a jacket. Volunteer identification badges will be provided by the hospital. We suggest that you wear low heeled, comfortable shoes or sneakers. Volunteers may not smoke or chew gum in the hospital.
Income Tax Deduction
Depending on your tax status, volunteers may deduct a percentage of the cost of travel to and from the hospital, as well as the cost of volunteer uniform, including shoes.
Valuables
Please leave valuables at home. Keep only small amounts of money and keys in your uniform pocket.
Meals
If you serve four or more hours in a day, the Volunteer Office will supply you with a meal ticket to use in the employee cafeteria.
Parking
As a volunteer, you may park for free in the in the multi-level parking garage attached to the hospital. Your parking ticket will be validated by the Volunteer Office. You then give it to the attendant when you leave the garage.
Telephone Use
The Volunteer Office staff will take any emergency telephone messages and relay them to you. If you want to make a personal telephone call, please use one of the public telephones located in the main lobby and on floors throughout the hospital.
Volunteer Recognition
Although you will receive many intangible rewards for your service as a volunteer, you are formally recognized for your service at a special luncheon held in you honor each year during National Volunteer Week.
Confidentiality
Many things that you will see and hear within the hospital are of a personal nature. Patients have the right to privacy and it is your responsibility to respect that right. Information concerning patients, such as their names, conditions and care must be confidential. For these reasons, we request that volunteers:
- Do not read patients' medical records or allow the patients to do so
- Do not ask patients why they are in the hospital, or inquire about their diagnosis or details of their care
- Do not try to answer inquiries about health care practices or costs
The Art of Listening
Patients are often eager to talk with volunteers and are cheered by this contact. Remember to call patients by name whenever possible and to listen in a friendly, noncommittal way. Tactfully evade confidences or questions that you cannot answer and do not discuss controversial subjects with patients.
Safety Regulations
If you become ill, injured or have an accident while on duty, be sure to report the incident, no matter how slight, to your supervisor and to the Volunteer Office. In the interest of safety, we suggest that volunteers follow these guidelines:
- Do not lift patients or heavy loads
- Never assist a patient into or out of a wheelchair without the help of a nurse or nurses assistant. When handling a wheelchair move cautiously, backing it into elevators, down ramps and through doors. Be careful when turning corners.
- Use or possession of intoxicating beverages or unauthorized drugs is prohibited.
- Smoking is prohibiting throughout all buildings of the Cooper campus.
A Quiet Place
Noise can be very disturbing to patients. Please help maintain a pleasant, restful atmosphere by speaking softly and using equipment carefully.
Gratuities
You should not expect tips or gratuities for your services.
Professional Advice
Please do not ask physicians, nurses or other hospital staff for professional advice when you are on duty.
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For more information about volunteer opportunities at Cooper University Hospital or to schedule an interview, please contact the Volunteer Department at (856) 342-2995. |