Volunteer Opportunities

TYPES OF VOLUNTEERS

At Guthrie, volunteers come in all sizes! Two separate groups of volunteers, INSERVICE VOLUNTEERS and AUXILIANS are active at many of our entities.

The Volunteer Department offers a number of opportunities for volunteers. They include:

RPH Gift Shop—any day from 9 am to 8 pm
Surgical waiting room—working with families of surgery
patients
Dialysis desk—working with families of dialysis patients
Clerical—collating, stuffing, labels, opening mail
Transportation—running errands throughout RPH and the
Clinic
X-ray delivery—transporting x-rays throughout RPH and the
Clinic
Medical Records Courier—transport charts from RPH
Medical Records to the Clinic
Phone service—answer phones in offices during meetings
Nursing unit assistant—assists professional staff on the
nursing floors
Activities assistant—helps with activities in the skilled
nursing facilities

Inservice Volunteers Volunteerism

Inservice volunteers are involved with patient-related services, and can volunteer at Robert Packer Hospital, Troy Community Hospital, Sayre House and Guthrie Hospice. Guthrie hospitals also have teen-age volunteers, known as "Volunteens", who help out throughout the year, especially during the summer when school is out.

Robert Packer Hospital and Troy Community Hospital Volunteers

Volunteering at Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, PA and Troy Community Hospital in Troy, PA, offers a wide range of opportunities. Hospital volunteers provide special services for patients such as wheelchair transport, flower delivery, patient visits, patient mailings and other necessary errands. They can also be seen greeting visitors in the surgical waiting room, ICU units or information area, delivering x-rays and medical records throughout the building and working in the Emergency Department.

Sample Opportunities for Hospital Volunteers

Surgical Waiting Room and ICU Unit Volunteers - Work with families who are waiting for patients in the Operating Room or the Intensive Care Units
Pastoral Service Volunteers - Visit each new patient admitted
Transportation Volunteers - Run errands through the hospital and clinic
Clerical Volunteers - Answer phones, stuff envelopes or file for different departments in the hospital and clinic
Medical Records Courier - Carry medical records from the Medical Records Department to the hospital and clinic
Information Desks Volunteers - Provide information to families, visitors and patients as they enter the hospital
Admissions Volunteers - Register patients and run errands for the Admission Department
Emergency Department Volunteers - Work with families, help with some clerical work and run errands
Patient Unit Assistant - Work on the nursing floors with the patient care staff
Flower Delivery - Deliver flower, plant and balloon arrangements to patients and staff

Robert Packer Hospital has:

Over 150 adult volunteers
30,000 volunteer hours per year
350 errands run daily
12,000 patient visits per year
50,000 pieces of clerical work processed per year
Over 15,000 miles walked each year by volunteers running errands

Senior Living Volunteers - A Connection to the World

Guthrie Healthcare System has four senior living facilities, all utilizing volunteers as a link to enhanced patient care. At Sayre House, a nursing facility in Sayre, PA volunteers are the backbone of the activities program. Volunteers also provide residents with a personal connection to the bustling activity of the outside world.

At Sayre House a schedule is made based on your volunteer preferences. There are many areas where volunteers are key, such as visiting residents, accompanying residents to appointments, running bingo and weekly games, organizing parties and special occasions, or just reading to the residents.

Hospice Volunteers - Providing Companionship and Relief

The main function of a Guthrie Hospice volunteer is to provide companionship for terminally ill patients and their families and serve as a supplement to the nursing care provided by the Hospice staff. This can be done by visiting with clients, writing letters for them, or just sitting quietly with them so that they don't feel alone. A volunteer may also run errands, mow grass, shovel snow, grocery shop, cook, or do light housekeeping, depending upon their interests. Another vital function they can provide is "caregiver relief", staying with the patient while the primary caregivers take some time for themselves, away from the patient. This provides the caregiver time to get out of the house to shop, go to appointments, or just take a nap.

Anyone over the age of 18 with a genuine desire to help others can become a Hospice volunteer. Because of the emotional nature of the Hospice program, it is also recommended that the applicant not have had anyone close to them die within the past year. To be a volunteer, an applicant must complete a 10-session training course each three hours long, covering a variety of topics. There are also training courses specific to both assisting bereaved families and persons diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

Couples are increasingly volunteering together and are utilized by Hospice to provide companionship to both the patient and their loved one. Couples can help facilitate communication within the family, allowing companions to discuss their fears or concerns. Guthrie Hospice also utilizes volunteers as clerical help in its office. These volunteers help with filing, answering phones, organizing supplies, stuffing envelopes, and sending out Hospice mailings.

Auxilians

Guthrie also has several active auxiliaries, groups who give their time and talent to raise money and operate gift shops, at Troy Community Hospital, Tioga Nursing Facility and Robert Packer Hospital.

Robert Packer Hospital Auxiliary - Advancing Hospital Projects

Robert Packer Hospital Auxiliary was founded in 1885, the year Robert Packer Hospital opened. Over the last 10 years, they have given more than $250,000 to the hospital and other Guthrie organizations and community projects. The Robert Packer Hospital Auxiliary also runs and staffs The Connection Gift Shop in the hospital lobby.