Volunteer

Parenting Center

The Parenting Center volunteers are responsible for assisting in creating a welcoming environment for parents, grandparents, and children to play and learn. They may assist with interacting with families as well as answering phones and providing support to staff members.

Materials Management

The warehouse volunteer works to improve the patient experience by assisting the Central Supply team. Answering phones, fulfilling supply requests from nurses, and delivering supplies throughout the hospital helps our nursing team focus on treating our fantastic patients & their families. The warehouse volunteer will be exposed to the latest supply chain innovations and training. The warehouse volunteer will collaborate with all hospital departments and learn multiple aspects of hospital operations.

Family Resource Center

The Family Resource Center on Children’s Hospital’s campus provides a calm and comfortable environment for families to rest and gather during their child’s hospital stay. Focused on family-centered care, this space provides access to resources such as computers and printers, as well as information about dining options, social services, and more so that families can attend to their needs while caring for their child. Volunteers in the Family Resource Center are responsible for keeping the center clean, organized and help with supervising patients and or siblings that may come with their parent.

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Gift Shop

The Children's Hospital Gift Shop is staffed by adult volunteers and is a great place to have contact with patients and their families, visitors, and hospital staff. Gift Shop volunteers interact with and assist customers, make gift bags, inflate balloons, stock supplies, operate a cash register and perform different payment methods.

Amy’s Art Cart

Amy’s Art Cart is a mobile art cart that serves children both in the hospital and those coming for doctors’ appointments. It is a specially designed, hospital-safe cart, stocked with art supplies, coloring books, playdoh, board games and even a mini library to bring joy and a creative outlet to hundreds of kids. Volunteers take the cart from room to room or clinic daily. Amy’s Art Cart inspires children to use their own creativity and imagination to help them cope with the hospital environment and medical procedures. For a list of supplies and guidelines to purchase supplies to be used on the cart please email CHvolunteers@lcmchealth.org. Monetary donations can be made to Amy’s Art Cart here.

Comfort Cart

If you’re the type of person who likes to get exercise and want to let employees know how extraordinary they are, consider volunteering with the Comfort Cart! The comfort cart is a cart that volunteers take throughout the hospital main campus and state street campus to provide staff with support during their fast-paced workday. The cart is stocked with snacks, candy and provides stress relief for staff.

Patient Family Advisory Council (PFAC)

The Patient and Family Advisory Council at Children’s Hospital is dedicated to the improvement of the quality of patient and family care. The Advisory Council is comprised of past and present patients and families and Children’s Hospital staff members. A PFAC member should have a positive approach, good listening skills, be enthusiastic about the hospital’s mission of excellence in patient care, education, and child advocacy, share both positive and negative experiences, and be able to communicate and work with all families. Please email CHNOLAPatientExperience@LCMCHealth.org for more information.

Spiritual Care Volunteer

We are looking for Spiritual Care Volunteers to provide support to children and families in the hospital. To be eligible, we are seeking volunteers who are willing to complete training in pediatric spiritual care under the direction and supervision of the hospital Chaplain. Upon completion of training, spiritual care volunteers will be invited to assist in the provision of spiritual care at Children's Hospital. Please email ChaplainLara Wiggins to see if this opportunity is right for you.

Guest Services

As a guest service volunteer, you help ensure that all our patients, families and guests feel extraordinary. Guest services volunteers provide a warm welcome by greeting everyone when they arrive to the welcome desk. These volunteers help screen, escort, and direct visitors throughout the hospital. Volunteers in this area may deliver mail or a gift to a patient’s room. Guest services volunteers also help to maintain our wheelchair supply by retrieving, cleaning, and returning wheelchairs to the appropriate locations.

Partnering with Angel's Place

Children's Hospital New Orleans has partnered with Angel's Place to provide extra support for families in need for more than 20 years. Through referrals from social workers, medical personnel, or from friends or other families, respite volunteers watch over Angel’s Place children on the Hematology/Oncology Unit or provide household aid to families. These respite volunteers work to lend a hand when families that have children hospitalized because of cancer, need any kind of basic help while in the hospital. For more information contact, Angel's Place.

Playroom

The playroom offers a welcoming environment where hospitalized children of all ages, as well as their family members, can gather to play with toys, participate in board games, video games or arts and crafts. It allows patients the opportunity to get out of their rooms and be kids. The playroom is a medical and procedure-free safe zone where patients are encouraged to make their own choices. With the guidance of Child Life staff, volunteers oversee and coordinate playroom activities.

Teen Lounge

The Teen Lounge is a place for hospitalized teens to “hang out” and be with their teenage siblings and friends, ages 13 to 21. This room is specifically designed to meet the needs of teen and young adult patients. The teen lounge is outfitted with music, movies, video game systems, computers and a variety of interesting arts and crafts. With the guidance of Child Life staff, volunteers oversee and coordinate teen lounge activities.

Visiting Pet Program

For more than 25 years Children’s Hospital has had pets visit our patients and families. Pets and their handlers are screened, trained and approved by the Board of Directors of the Visiting Pet Program. Visiting Pet Program Teams visit hospitalized patients and their families in their room, playroom areas, attend special events held for the patients and can be called upon to greet families and help them find their way in the hospital. Click here to learn more about the Visiting Pet Program.

Songs for Kids Program

Children’s Hospital's Music Therapy Program offers a Music Volunteer Program through the Songs for Kids Foundation. Musicians can visit patients and families in their rooms, in our playrooms and during special events to offer a brief musical break from the stressors of hospitalization. If you are interested in this program, please contact our music therapist, Kimberly Bell. To learn more about the Songs for Kids Foundation, check out their website.

Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU)

The PACU volunteer improves the patient experience by providing support to the nurses and patients in that unit. Examples of ways that volunteers improve the patient experience are by rounding on the unit to provide the nurses with whatever they need for their patients at bedside like warm blankets, juices/pop sickles or even holding a patient. Volunteers may be asked to answer phones and take messages, escort families to their child’s bedside, restock supplies, assist with transporting a patient from the recovery room to their patient room, and clean areas after patients leave the unit.

Outpatient Dialysis Unit

The dialysis and infusion volunteer will improve the patients experience by supporting and comforting patients while they are undergoing procedures. Volunteers interact and play with these children and teens using an Art Cart that is stocked with activities and games that they can use while the child or teen undergoes their treatment. In addition, volunteers provide support by carrying out miscellaneous tasks asked of them by nurses and staff in the department.

Rehabilitation Center

Rehabilitation services volunteers are responsible for providing volunteer level work within all the areas of rehabilitation services which would include both the inpatient therapy and outpatient therapy locations. Duties include, but not limited to, observation of the clinical specialist in the area, cleaning supplies and surfaces within the area, assisting therapists with treatment sessions by obtaining toys/equipment or participating in a game with the patient. Volunteers will provide any other volunteer level duties requested by the Lead Therapist or Audiologist within the department.

Emergency Department (ED)

As an emergency department volunteer you help provide an exceptional patient experience by welcoming patients and families and escort them from triage to their room. Volunteers in this area clean, and ready rooms, restock supplies, answer phones, and take messages. ED volunteers may support and interact with a child by providing distractions such as an activity book or sticker activity especially when a child’s stay in the ED is going to be lengthy. Get to know the nurses, doctors, and hospital staff – the friendships you form at Children’s will be one of the best parts of volunteering

Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU)

CICU volunteers are responsible for answering the door and welcoming parents and other caregivers into the unit. Volunteers in this area answer phones, take messages, restock supplies in patients’ rooms, and assist with breaking down patient charts. A CICU volunteer may make rounds on the unit to find out if the patient or family members have any needs. Volunteers in the CICU often spend time with patients and help staff and families with any other small jobs necessary to make the unit run more smoothly. Volunteers have the opportunity to interact with children in the CICU by providing toys and playing with them at bedside.

Acute Care Nursing Units

The acute care nursing unit volunteer works to improve the patient experience by welcoming and assisting families and staff as needed. Volunteers on these nursing units provide light housekeeping duties, walk with and guide patients to other departments, restock supplies, answer phones/nurse call buttons, and takes messages. Volunteers may prepare and deliver snacks to patients. Acute care unit volunteers may interact with a child or teen at bedside providing them with play and recreation activities especially when their family members aren’t able to be at the hospital. Volunteers in this area support patients and staff with whatever they may need to help the unit flow smoothly.

Transplant Team

Volunteers working with transplant services will serve to make normal operations of the department run as effectively as possible by assisting with a variety of duties. Responsibilities of the position include calling patients to remind them about appointments, answering phone calls, revising documents and educational materials, and helping nurses with data entry.

Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Units (PICU/NICU)

Our Cuddle Program is a program here at CHNOLA in our intensive care units where adult volunteers can assist by cuddling and providing developmental activities for infants in the NICU and PICU. Volunteers hold, comfort, rock, swaddle, sing, and/or talk to babies as human touch has been proven to have a positive effect of the healing process of infants.

Perioperative Services

Volunteers working with perioperative services improve the patient experience by welcoming and supporting families who have children undergoing surgical procedures. Volunteers assist by escorting patients and families throughout the perioperative area. Other duties include answering family members questions, answering phones, taking messages, teaching caregivers how to interpret the surgical patient board, filing/organizing documents, and keeping the general area neat and clean.

Marketing & Development Event Volunteers

There are several opportunities available for community volunteers to pool their talent and energy on special projects to benefit our young patients and their families. The Development Department can help your group find volunteer opportunities at one of our hospital’s signature events, including Boo at the Zoo, and other fundraising events and projects. To sign up or for more information, please contact the Children's Hospital Office of Development at chnolafundraising@lcmchealth.org.

High School Volunteer Program

Playing is fun! You can help kids feel like themselves by taking them on a ride in an electronic car. Providing them with activities to do from the Art Cart. Creating decorations for a child’s room, facepainting, and providing activities for the entire family to do in our Family Resource Room like art, crafts, and bingo. Participants must be at least 16 years of age to apply. The dates of the program are from June 10 through August 9, 2024. The application deadline is April 15, 2024. Interviews, the onboarding paperwork and training modules should be completed by April 28, 2024. The minimum requirement for participation is 6 out of 9 weeks, 10 hours a week for a total of 60 hours.

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