Presentation Objectives

 Volunteer Recruitment – Why they come  Volunteer Retention – Why they stay  Navigating Challenges  Future Directions  Troubleshooting with Volunteers

Recruitment Strategies

 Hearing from our Volunteer Resources Coordinators – Liz Deluca and Nancy Hayes  Volunteers • How did you hear about the program ?

Why They Come (1/4)

Internal Advertising

Website Volunteer Resources office

Public Relations newsletters

Why They Come (2/4)

Connecting with Local College/University

 Presentations to classes  Placement database • Student placements  Recruitment booths

Why They Come (3/4)

Community Volunteer Agencies

 Volunteer Hamilton • Separate categories for different subpopulations – student, retiree etc.

Why They Come (4/4)

Local Media

 Public Service Announcements  Announcements – TV, Newspaper  Radio talk shows

Challenges to Recruitment (1/4)

Time!

• Balancing clinical load and support of current volunteers with time needed to recruit

Challenges (2/4)

Relationship with Volunteer Resources

• How to share these responsibilities

Challenges (3/4)

Administrative Support

• Need someone with a creative eye

Challenges (4/4)

Screening Requirements

• Costs involved in health and police clearance

Volunteer Retention

Hearing from Volunteers

 What is different about HELP?

 What do you like best?  Why do you stay?

Why They Stay (1/6)

Program Structure and Flexibility

 Structured plan  Assigned interventions  Flexible shifts

Why They Stay (2/6)

Interest in Working with Seniors

 Gerontology programs  Community connection

Why They Stay (3/6)

Recognition

       HELP Tea Service Awards for Geriatric Excellence Volunteer Appreciation Week / Holidays Invitations to conferences Newsletter – volunteer spotlight Hours of service Reference letters

Why They Stay (4/6)

ELS Role

 Regular support  Accessible

Why They Stay (5/6)

Training

Why They Stay (6/6)

Direct Patient Contact

Navigating Challenges (1/2) )

Hearing from Volunteers

• • What challenges have you faced?

Any advice for HELP staff?

Navigating Challenges (2/2)

 Engaging difficult patients  Language barriers  Busy ward environment  Relationship with staff

Future Directions

 Targeted recruitment of baby boomers from the community  Expansion  Ongoing training/education opportunities  Needs assessment of volunteers  Making prevention visible  Research, economic value of volunteering

Troubleshooting with Volunteers  Case Scenarios   Case # 1 It is Monday morning and you receive a voicemail from the Charge Nurse on your most recent expansion unit. The message says “We received a complaint from a family member on the weekend. Apparently they noticed a volunteer going in to see their family member’s roommate who happened to be in isolation and they were not wearing their PPE. (note – 1 bed in a 4 bed room was isolated) The family member told the volunteer it was an isolation room and the volunteered ignored them and refused to put on the proper equipment.”   What are the important issues in this case?

What would be your course of action?

  Case #2 You have a very eager volunteer who is regularly in touch with you. They seem to cancel a lot of shifts but they are always for ‘legitimate’ reasons. You decide to check their hours and you notice that they have only completed 9 hours since they finished training 6 months ago!

  What are the important issues in this case?

What would be your course of action?

  Case #3 You have recently started the HELP program and just finished training a large group of volunteers. You receive the following email: After many family discussions about volunteering at the hospital, I have decided that I am not going to be able to continue as a volunteer. I am very concerned about my mom's health and don't want to risk passing anything along to her.

While taking the volunteer course, I really did not realize how easily viruses spread and how many rooms would require us to wear the gowns, etc. Unfortunately, I do not feel comfortable even being on the floor when so many rooms have "precaution" signs on the doors. Also, I definitely don't feel welcome by 90% of the nursing staff. We seem to be a nuisance to them, judging by their reaction to us.

  What are the important issues in this case?

What would be your course of action?

Any Questions?

Feel free to contact us: Erin Stirling [email protected]

Angela John [email protected]