Become a Volunteer
Volunteers must possess the maturity, responsibility, and interpersonal skills to interact safely with patients, staff, and other volunteers in a complex organization. Volunteers must be able to see and hear well enough to communicate in person or on the telephone with ease. Volunteers should be able to speak English to be understood clearly. Volunteers need to have manual dexterity and be able to read to assist with paperwork and perform clerical tasks independently. Volunteers must have strength and stamina to do errands between various hospital areas.
- Volunteer must be at least 18 years of age.
- Volunteers must be able to pass a criminal background check. SMCS requires background checks for all employees and volunteers. The purpose of the background check process is to identify any felony or related misdemeanor criminal convictions that an individual may have.
- Employee health clearance – certain immunizations required.
Retirees, non-working adults and empty-nesters with time to give find volunteering here to be personally rewarding. Call us directly so that we can help you find the right fit for you to share your time, talents and heart with our patients, families and staff.
- Greet and direct patients and families
- Visit with patients
- Administrative support
- Doula
Volunteering with Hospice
Hospice seeks to support the terminally ill and their families either in their homes or in facilities, offering care, guidance and support as they approach death as a process rather than an event.
Volunteers receive an initial 24 hours of training and offer an average of four hours a week to their hospice families, providing respite, companionship, and help with errands or supportive tasks. Volunteers are trained and supported to enhance the overall goal of meeting the physical, emotional, spiritual and practical needs of patients and their families.
In addition, some volunteers provide office assistance while others offer bereavement follow-up to the families of hospice patients. Volunteers also attend monthly in-service meetings for continuing education and support.
For more information on Sutter Hospice volunteer opportunities, call the Hospice Volunteer Coordinator at (916) 388-6255.
Benefits of Volunteering
"There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up." — John Andrew Holmes
Volunteering is a wonderful gift that can be given to patients and the community. Volunteers meet people, make new friends, use their skills and acquire new ones. They feel a sense of accomplishment and perhaps the most important benefit is satisfaction of knowing they are contributing to their community and making a difference.
Contact
Volunteer Service Program
(916) 887-4379
smcsvolunteers@sutterhealth.org