Volunteering at Children's Hospital
Thank you for your interest in joining the Children’s Hospital New Orleans volunteer team. We have a diverse group of more than 400 volunteers who selflessly devote thousands of hours each year to support the hospital staff and our patients and families. Whether playing with children during wait times or helping families find their way in the halls, the volunteers at Children’s Hospital make a difference providing a special human connection that often eases the stress for patients and families going through difficult times. Please note that our volunteers can volunteer in clinical areas, but volunteering doesn’t provide an opportunity to shadow a physician, nurse or other health care provider. Click here to learn more about Career Shadowing.
Submit your Volunteer Application
Click here to access the Volunteer Portal
Children’s Hospital Health Screening Requirements
- 2021-2022 flu shot
- COVID-19 vaccination(s)
- Current Tuberculosis Skin Test or Blood Assay Test within last six months
- Documentation of Tdap Immunization (Whooping Cough) (valid for 10 years)
- Documentation of Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccination X2 and Varicella vaccination X2
If there is no documentation of two vaccinations or titers are not positive for the Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Varicella, then further vaccination is needed. Children's Hospital provides the TB skin test and MMR and Varicella titer tests free of charge.
Non-clinical volunteer opportunities:
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.
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.
Child Life and Creative Therapies:
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.
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
Chaplain Allen Mitchell 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.
High School Student Volunteer Program
The minimum age to volunteer at Children’s Hospital is 16. During
the fall and spring semesters, high school volunteer opportunities are
available on nursing units and with the guest services department. During
the school year ,volunteer shifts are Monday through Friday from 4:30
– 7:30 pm. There are three options for a volunteer shift on weekends
during the school year: 9 am – noon, 1 – 4 pm or 4:30 –
7:30 pm. We offer a
Summer Teen Ambassador Program starting at the beginning of June and ending the second week in August.
During the summer program, teens can volunteer multiple times each week
in a variety of areas. Teen Ambassadors are required to complete six of
the nine weeks of the summer program. The deadline to complete the summer
online application is April 1. Interviews must be completed, and the required
paperwork must be uploaded into the student’s volunteer portal by May 15.
Clinical volunteer opportunities
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.
Service projects and fundraising
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.
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.
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.
How to contact the Volunteer Services Office:
Office Phone: 504.894.6802
Office Fax: 504.894.5349
Email:
chvolunteers@lcmchealth.org
Office hours are Monday through Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Evening appointments are available by special request.