Personal Touch: Patient Care Volunteer Program

Personal Touch Volunteers serve in patient care areas, working directly with nurses and patients. They are trained to give practical and emotional support to patients and their families and to provide staff support.

What do Personal Touch Volunteers do?

Job Summary
Personal Touch Volunteers provide comfort care, including both practical and emotional support, to Palmetto Baptist patients and their families, as well as providing staff support.

Responsibilities and duties include...

	Visit with patients, listen, and provide emotional support.
	Feed patients; distribute and retrieve meal trays.
	Assist patients in walking.
	Transport patients in wheelchair within the hospital and to their vehicles at discharge.
	Distribute and retrieve patient-specific snacks or juices as directed.
	Offer relaxing backrubs to patients, as trained.
	Assist or give bed-baths.
	Assist patients with personal care.
	Provide patients with diversion and companionship.
	Offer other assistance as indicated on unit-specific job descriptions.
	Assist staff with errands (i.e. specimens to lab, medical records from Health Information, supplies from SPD, etc.)
	Support patients during medical and nursing procedures.

Requirements:

		Willingness and ability to reliably fulfill a minimum commitment of one 4-hour shift each week for one year.
		Ability to maintain confidentiality.
		Ability to maintain a professional appearance and manner.
		Ability to express and effectively transmit compassion.
		Ability to perform duties without constant or direct supervision and to exercise initiative.
		Physical ability to assist patients and staff in the Personal Touch Volunteer role.
		A positive attitude.

Volunteer With Patient Who can be a Personal Touch Volunteer?

Applicants must be 16 years of age or older with the abilities listed above.

Benefits

Personal Touch Volunteers receive generous benefits and privileges which are outlined in the Personal Touch Volunteer manual, including:

Opportunity to be a part of a patient care team

Direct patient contact

Choice of several patient care areas

Long-term volunteer relationships

Formal & informal recognition

Structured opportunity for service

Accountability

Flexible schedule

Ongoing training

Opportunity to grow & develop on your unit

Hands on patient care

FAQs

What is the standard time commitment?

A minimum of one 4-hour shift per week for at least one year.

When do volunteers serve?

Shifts are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. New volunteers are scheduled, according to their preference, for shifts in which no other volunteer is serving.

On what units do Personal Touch Volunteers serve?

3rd Surgical

OB/GYN

8th Medical

Oncology

Emergency Department

Orthopedics

Medical Telemetry Unit (MTU)

Outpatient Surgical Recovery

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

Sub-Acute Rehab

Nursery

What is involved in the entry process?

An application is completed and submitted.

References listed on the application are contacted by Personal Touch.

Upon receipt of letters of reference, an interview is scheduled with the applicant.

Volunteers accepted for training attend the Personal Touch Training Course (offered 4-5 times per year) and complete required health work.

Applicants accepted into the program are interviewed by the head nurse of the unit in which they choose to serve.

An appointment is scheduled to have a photo identification badge made and to purchase a uniform.

New volunteers are oriented to their unit by an experienced volunteer for one or two shifts.

New Personal Touch Volunteers begin their weekly shift.

Do you get paid?

Yes! In smiles, thanks and praise. Volunteers receive no salary.

Is training required for Personal Touch
Volunteers?

Yes. We offer 4-5 training courses each year. The 21-hour course is held either on Monday and Thursday evenings for three weeks, or on two consecutive Saturdays, plus a Sunday afternoon.

How long has the Personal Touch Department been in existence?

As a pilot program, the first training class of 15 volunteers began their service in March, 1990. Two of those original trainees are still active Personal Touch Volunteers.

Do Personal Touch Volunteers wear a uniform?

Yes, all Personal Touch Volunteers wear a uniform. Most choose to wear scrub suits. Some prefer the other options described in the Personal Touch Volunteer Manual.

More Questions? Want To Sign Up? - For additional information on becoming a Personal Touch Volunteer at Palmetto Health Baptist, contact Eleanor Whitehead, Director of the Personal Touch Volunteer Department, at (803) 296-5570. You also may e-mail her by clicking here. Click here for our online Personal Touch Volunteer application.