WESTSIDE HOSPITAL SUMMER VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

ABOUT:

Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center Volunteer Summer Program is an excellent fit for high school or college students who are only available during the summer break to volunteer.  Our goal is to provide an opportunity to give you meaningful experiences in areas of the hospital not traditionally associated with being a healthcare volunteer but are valuable to the overall satisfaction and needs of our members and visitors.  These roles will give you an opportunity to fulfill your volunteer needs based on course requirements, pre-requisites for programs or scholarship needs. Our summer program asks you to commit to two weekly (weekdays) and regularly scheduled shifts with each shift being four hours.  We require 25 shifts to complete the summer program.  Based on the length of time you will be on summer break; this may mean you need to pick up extra shifts in addition to your regularly scheduled shifts. In this program you will get the opportunity to see how everything we do to support the members, patients and staff makes a difference and helps to provide a positive experience.  Specific programs for summer volunteers include:

• Rotunda Volunteers: Rotunda volunteers assist members and visitors as they enter the hospital, providing check in assistance, wayfinding, discharge wheelchair escorting and answering questions for visitors.  Volunteers in this role will be primarily assigned to weekday, morning shifts but may support afternoons on a limited basis. Volunteers in this role will gain valuable experience in listening to members (patients) and learning the various ways patients communicate their medical need.

• Patient Support:  Building on a role we had prior to COVID, we are excited to bring back a restructured program for the benefit of our patients.  This volunteer role would include rounding or visiting with patients (from a list provided by the unit), offering art or activity related items, perhaps playing a game with them, offering information on services we provide such as My Chart and proxy sign ups, how to request a chaplain visit, or how to order meals. This role will adhere to the Infection Control measures in place at the hospital to assist in providing a safe and healthy environment. Volunteers in this role will gain valuable experience in connecting and communicating with patients and extending positive interactions into our community. This helps volunteers to understand their role in improving our HCAHPS scores.  

• Music Can Heal: In this role, a volunteer would be providing a warm and calm atmosphere by playing instrumental music for patients and families in waiting rooms and patient rooms. Instruments must be provided by the volunteer and approved for use in public areas.  Examples of musical instruments that would fit our facility include but are not limited to guitar or violin.  Volunteers will need to either submit an audition video or audition in person to be accepted.  Volunteers in this role will only have two-hour shifts but will be expected to complete the same number of shifts (not hours) as all summer volunteers.

• Imaging Services: In this role, you must be already graduated from high school.  Preference is given to those who are trying to get into a Radiology Tech program or other Imaging Services Tech program.  This role has a unique opportunity to observe x-rays and other imaging modalities. This role will also learn more about and support other imaging modalities. This role gives you the opportunity to interact with patients, learn from our imaging technicians and do other tasks related to all volunteer roles such as hand hygiene observations and Infection Control wipe downs. 

• EVS Administrative Support: The Environmental Services Unit is the housekeeping arm of our facility.  They provide a valuable service to keep our hospital looking good, ensuring patient rooms are clean while observing a high level of Infection Control.  In this role, you would be supporting the unit with administrative support such as scanning documents, and other non-assigned staff duties.  There are many projects they have a need for that will help their department with organization and office efficiency.  There are other tasks that will be used to fill in your time, however this role does not do cleaning in the hospital.  This role gives you an opportunity to practice your administrative skills and provide support for an integral program in the hospital.  Patients who fill out the survey that provides our HCAHPS scores rate clean room as one of the metrics, so this role helps the unit in their goals to provide excellent service to our patients.

• Herb garden for FNS: At Westside we are proud to be a LEED certified facility and have taken it steps farther.  Our Food and Nutrition program annually grows an herb garden for use with our food preparation for both in-patient and staff/visitor food needs.  If you are a nutrition bound student, this is a great opportunity to participate in caring for our herb garden. 

Step 1:

For high school applicants only, all required documents (i.e., parent permission form and unofficial transcripts) must be submitted to the Volunteer Office within 4 days.

• Please note: Parent permission form requests have been emailed to your parent/guardian separately and must be submitted by the parent on the volunteer’s behalf. Moving forward, all other communications MUST be sent by the prospective volunteer.

STEP 2:

For all applicants, after the documentation is reviewed, the Volunteer Office will send you via an emailed link five compliance trainings to complete.  These should be completed within 7 days. When these are completed, you will be invited for an interview. 

• Please note: This will be conducted via Zoom – all applicants are required to have their camera and microphone on.

STEP 3:

For all applicants, following the interview, the applicant will set up their ReadySet profile within 2 days.

• Please note: ReadySet will be explained during the time of the interview. All health surveys must be filled out and the appropriate documentation uploaded.

STEP 4:

For all applicants, a notice from the laboratory will be sent to the volunteer for testing/immunization requirements. All labs must be completed within 5 days. The only exception for completing this is if you are located outside of the Metro Area. These labs must then be completed the first day you return from your college program. 

• Please note: Kaiser outpatient laboratories are open from Monday - Friday from 7am – 2pm. As the laboratory is significantly busier in the afternoon, we advise applicants to complete lab work in the morning. 

sTEP 5:

For all applicants 18 and over, a standard background check will be completed. The initial email will ask you for additional information to allow for your background to be processed.  Examples include your social security number and any other names you have used.  All information will need to be provided and completed within 2 days.

Once all items are processed, the Volunteer Office will schedule a 2-hour New Volunteer Orientation session via zoom. We will schedule both a safety tour of the hospital and training session for each individual prior to your official start date. If you are in the area, we will ask to have these done prior to your start date. 

STEP 6: