Mission Statement
The Medical Services Program is an opportunity for volunteers to combine invaluable community service with valuable educational experience, through human contact and support. Volunteers assist staff, patients, and families at medical facilities in Charlottesville: U.Va. Health System, Charlottesville Free Clinic and Martha Jefferson Hospital.
Program Sites: Where We're Serving
We volunteer in various units in three Medical Centers: UVA Health System; Martha Jefferson Hospital; and the Charlottesville Free Clinic. The units listed below are expected to offer shifts, but not guaranteed.
For more information on specific units, please visit the Medical Services contact page and email the corresponding Program Director.
UVA Health System
Acute Pediatrics (7 West and 7 Central)
Volunteers offer companionship and assistance to pediatric patients (range: toddler-21) with a wide range of illnesses and support the families of the patients. Some shifts will permit volunteers to assist teaching staff in the Hospital school.
Volunteer should: love children; be sensitive to other's needs; be outgoing and confident.
Weekday daytime shifts, evening shifts, and weekend shifts with high patient contact.
Cancer Center
Cardiac Procedure Support
Volunteers assist in preparation for Cardiology and Angio-Interventional Radiology procedures. They escort patients and families to various destinations on the unit; stock patient rooms with supplies; run many errands; answer phones; prepare charts and folders; help with administrative tasks; assist nurses and techs with various tasks.
Volunteer should: be comfortable in a surgical setting; not be squeamish at sight of blood; be comfortable with lots of walking.
Weekday daytime shifts; minimal patient contact. The busiest shifts are very early (8am-11am)!
Dental Clinic
Volunteers assist the Dental Clinic dentists and staff with clinical and clerical tasks including (but not limited to) disinfecting and stocking dental equipment, escorting patients to exam rooms, filing records, and preparing general paperwork. With patient permission, volunteers are also able to observe dental tasks performed by both dentists and dental assistants.
Volunteers should be friendly, have good attention to detail, and be interested in a dental career.
Discharge Assistant
Digestive Health Center
Digestive Health has both outpatients and inpatients. Volunteers on this unit will assist staff with greeting patients, running errands, folding and stocking linens and other supplies, preparing stretchers, answering phones, and assisting with coverage at the reception desk. After patients have been discharged, volunteers will be able to transport them via wheelchairs to waiting areas.
Volunteers should: be effective communicators, attentive, friendly; be able to walk a lot.
Weekday- Morning and daytime shifts with high patient contact.
ED Clinic
Volunteers stock supplies in various departments throughout the entire unit and assist nurses with patient care: pushing wheelchairs, answering pages, getting patients water or blankets. Volunteers also play with children in the Pediatric Care Department.
Volunteers should: be willing to interact with patients and be attentive to needs of the doctors and nurses.
Weekend and daytime shifts.
ED Patient Rep
Volunteers help coordinate services to families/friends of patients receiving care in the Emergency Waiting Room, act as their liaison with the medical staff, provide patient location information, and generally assist these visitors and patients in any non-medical way possible to make their wait less stressful.
Volunteer should: Be comfortable around people in crisis and in a very diverse setting
Evening and weekend shifts with high patient contact.
Escort & Wayfinding
Family Medicine
Inpatient Ambassador
Volunteers provide hospitality, information and support to newly admitted patients and their families and friends.
Volunteer should: be personable and friendly; be comfortable approaching people they don't know; effectively communicate information about the hospital; remain calm in uncomfortable situations.
Shifts 7 days a week; all times of day. High patient contact.
Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center
Volunteers have the opportunity to work in one of the following five programs at KCRC: Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Bedside Visiting, Aquatics, and PACE. Volunteers will be working with children of all different ages. The Physical and Occupational Therapy programs give volunteers a chance to assist the therapists during their patient sessions, as well as help set-up and clean-up. During Bedside Visiting, the volunteers will spend time with patients and even their families through activities or holding babies who need the extra love and attention. Through the Aquatics Program, they experience direct contact with patients through activities in the pool. In the Program for Activity, Creativity, and Exercise (PACE), volunteers have the opportunity to develop a close relationship with patients with cerebral palsy and developmental delays by playing innovative games that aid in muscular development.
Volunteers should: enjoy working with children; be confident swimmers (Aquatics only); be outgoing and energetic.
Weekday daytime and evening shifts with high patient contact.
Medical ICU Staff Support
Outpatient Surgery Family Lounge
Volunteers escort patients/families to the pre-operational room and recovery room. Volunteers spend most of their time in the waiting room, greeting visitors, answering phone calls and making new patient charts.
Volunteers should: be comfortable talking to patients/families in the waiting room.
Weekday shifts only.
Pharmacy (Inpatient and Outpatient)
Volunteers assist pharmacists and pharmacy technicians by keeping the inventory well-stocked and organized, packaging medications, and other administrative tasks.
Volunteers should: be interested in pharmacy career and have attention to detail.
Inpatient Pharmacy: evening and weekend shifts available. Outpatient Pharmacy: weekday shifts available.
Pre-Anesthesia Support
The PETC provides pre-operative education, lab-work and testing for patients awaiting surgery. Volunteer duties include assembling packs of relevant forms for patients, retrieving patient charts from various areas of the hospital, assisting patients in filling out the forms, directing/escorting patients to other units, and performing receptionist tasks as necessary. The Surgicial Admissions Suite (SAS) prepares patients for their surgeries. Volunteer duties include making various packs of equipment and supplies for the OR patients, restocking patient rooms, retrieving stretchers, delivering items to the pharmacy, bringing patients up from the waiting room, and moving patient charts. Volunteers must also wear scrubs (provided). Being comfortable working with people is helpful but not essential, as there is little patient contact.
PETC: Extensive walking is usually required.
Three-hour shifts are available at 11am from Monday through Friday.
SAS: Three-hour shifts are available at 7am and 10am from Monday through Friday. Minimal patient contact.
Psych Research Support
UVa CARE (Center for Addiction Research and Education) is a site that focuses on clinical research and substance abuse in order to find long term solutions to the problem of addiction. Volunteer duties include data entry, patient screening and organizational tasks. Optional Friday lunch lecture series and staff meetings are available to volunteers who demonstrate commitment and fulfill duties. Great opportunity for anyone interested in psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences!
Volunteer should: Have a car to get to site (not located at UVA Hospital); pay good attention to detail; have experience with MS Excel and/or Access.
Weekday-daytime shifts with little (over the phone) or no patient contact.
Surgical Supply/MERCI
In Surgical Supply, the most action happens on the 7am shift! Volunteers stock supplies, run errands, and help with administrative tasks. Must wear scrubs (provided). In MERCI, volunteers work with head OR nurses to sort and pack medical supplies for local and global health clinics.
Volunteer should: Be comfortable in a surgical setting; not squeamish at sight of blood; able to stand for long periods. Note: volunteers are not permitted to enter operating room during surgery.
Surgical Supply: weekday-daytime shifts with little or no patient contact. The busiest shifts are very early (7am - 10am)! MERCI: Independent (no patient contact); Thursday shift only.
TCV-PO Staff Support
TCV-PO stands for Thoracic Cardiovascular Post Operative Unit. The unit treats patients who have just had open chest surgery. Volunteers mostly assist staff in a wide variety of administrative tasks including answering telephone calls. The TCV-PO is often a chaotic environment where patients need intense nursing care and sometimes emergency surgical follow-up treatment right on the unit.
Volunteers should: be interested in a medical career; have good attention to detail; not be squeamish at sight of blood.
Daytime and evening shifts on weekdays and weekends. Moderate patient contact.
Martha Jefferson Hospital
Emergency Room
Volunteers will be in the Emergency Department at Martha Jefferson Hospital, and will help with cleaning rooms, taking patients to CT and X-ray, stocking supplies, organizing, and assisting nurses if need be.
Volunteers should: be comfortable with making conversation with patients; be generally comfortable with a hospital environment; and have initiative to help before being asked.
Because of the hospital's location, having a car is highly recommended.
Weekday daytime and evening shifts with high patient contact.
Operating Room
In the Martha Jefferson Hospital Operating Room, volunteers are trusted to help the nurse's aides perform many of their tasks. Volunteers may help transport patients to the OR prior to surgery, take samples to the lab, or refill empty oxygen tanks. By far the most important and time consuming of the tasks that the volunteers help complete involves preparing the operating room. This includes cleaning up after procedures and restocking the operating rooms.
South 7
South 7 is Oncology unit at Martha Jefferson Hospital. Proactive volunteers are needed to answer the phone and the nurse call system (patient calls). Volunteers help patients open their cartons and set up for meals, walk patients, make beds, read to them and maybe sit with restless patient, take a patient out for discharge in a wheel chair or walk with them if they are alone. Volunteers also fill water pitchers, make patient charts, and take specimens to the lab.
Volunteers should: be energetic; not mind asking what can be done; and be willing to make an effort!
Charlottesville Free Clinic
Charlottesville Free Clinic
At CFC, volunteers have the opportunity to take on different positions every week, each with its own set of responsibilities. These include front desk: check patients into the clinic, get medical charts ready; screener: fill out the screening forms for new patients, qualify patients for services, re-screen current patients; exit interviewer: schedule patients for follow-up appointments, read doctor and nurse notations, initiate referral/x-ray procedures when necessary; floater: move between screening and exit interview to help keep patient back-up to a minimum, complete random tasks (filing, etc); pharmacy technician: assist the pharmacist with dispensing medications by filling prescriptions; phones: answer patient questions, refer patients to outside resources/agencies, qualify patients, schedule patient appointments, take messages/prescription refill messages.
Volunteers should: be enthusiastic, courteous, respectful, and patient; be very committed to arrive on time for their shifts.
Because the clinic is located away from Central Grounds, a car is necessary for transportation. However, carpools can be arranged so that those without cars can still volunteer at CFC.
Only Monday, Tuesday, Thursday evening shifts (5:30pm-8:30pm); high patient contact.
Charlottesville Free Dental Clinic
The CFDC is an excellent place for volunteers to observe and take part in a dental clinic environment. Volunteers will assist the Free Dental Clinic dentists and staff with clinical errands such as guiding patients, disinfecting dental instruments, assisting operations, taking X-rays, and administrative duties. With several training sessions, this position is suitable for all willing volunteers. Since volunteers are critical to the CFDC operation, it is important for all volunteers to arrive on time for their shifts and eagerly assist the dentists.
Volunteers should: be interested in the dental field and be able to swiftly and carefully take care of several tasks at a time.
All volunteers must have car access for transportation.
Monday evening shifts, Tuesday afternoon/evening shifts, Thursday afternoon/evening shifts only; high patient contact.
