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August 6, 2002 — Throughout Monmouth
Medical Center, they’ve made their presence known this summer.
Nearly 140 young people are “working” in Monmouth’s
Summer Volunteer Program — the highest number of participants
in several years, which includes work-study and college students.
Since early July, they’ve been seen assisting visitors at the
main lobby’s information desk, taking patients by wheelchair
for testing, and carrying out various duties on patient care units
and in numerous support departments.
“Our summer teens also include a student from Monmouth County’s
Culinary Education Center, who is helping out in our Food Services’ kitchen,
and 17 high school students from Brooklyn whose families spend their
summer in the area,” says Louise Shivers, coordinator of Volunteer
Services. “We even have students who are bilingual and trilingual,
assisting with communication in such languages as Spanish, French,
Chinese, Italian and Creole.”
Ranging in age from 14 to 21 years, these young people are coming
to Monmouth at least once a week from communities throughout the
county, including Middletown, Spring Lake Heights and Marlboro.
They’ve
been assigned to more than 40 departments, including every nursing
unit, the operating room, Rehabilitation Services, Radiation Oncology,
Emergency Department and Human Resources.
“Not only have they been a great resource to us for the past
several months, but they’re also gaining a better understanding
of the workings of a hospital,” Shivers says. “Because
of the first-hand experience, many now are thinking about pursuing
a career in health care — as a nurse, pharmacist, medical technician,
physical therapist, just to name a few areas of interest.”
Before taking their assignments, all summer volunteers were required
to participate in a comprehensive, four-hour orientation program that
included instruction in patient confidentiality, patient satisfaction,
security, safety and infection control.
“By the time they came to the orientation, they already were
interviewed and matched to a department or patient care area,” Shivers
explains. “After passing two tests following the orientation,
they were taken to their departments, introduced to the staff and
received ‘job’-specific training for the tasks they would
be performing.”
As for her colleagues, they are always grateful for this volunteer
support — and equally as impressed with the quality of the assistance. “The
department are happy to have these students,” Shivers says. “Each
year, they tell me they wish they could have at least three more of
them.”
For more information about adult and teen volunteer opportunities
at Monmouth Medical Center, an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health
Care System, call 732-923-6670.
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