Volunteering at Guelph General Hospital
Thank you for choosing to apply to volunteer at Guelph General Hospital! Please make sure this is a good time in your life for such a commitment. Due to a high volume of applications, our response back to you will take time.
Please note that our volunteer positions are NOT paid positions. If you are mainly interested in finding a paid job/position here at the hospital, our volunteer program is not suited for this purpose.
Please visit our career board if you are looking for paid positions:
https://www.gghorg.ca/careers/
About the Volunteer Program
Commitment: We ask our volunteers for a minimum of 1-year commitment as the process to become a volunteer takes time.
Age Requirement: You must be 16 years old to volunteer in the Courtyard Boutique, Inpatient Visiting and Main Lobby Greeter Programs. You must be 18 years old to volunteer for any of our other volunteer positions.
Please plan ahead and apply several months before you hope to begin volunteering. The process to become a volunteer has many steps, which take approximately 6-8 weeks (or more) to complete after a successful interview. These steps are in place to ensure that each volunteer is safe to be in a hospital environment and has the appropriate training for each volunteer role.
Our volunteers are part of the team in more ways than one. They are an important part of a wrap-around approach to help create an enhanced care experience for all our patients, families, caregivers and staff. You will see these valuable helpers in a number of areas around the hospital. They are always happy to help or answer questions if you need assistance.
There are many volunteer roles here offered here at GGH. Each program is broken down into 2 main categories.
Outpatient Areas
- Gift Shop (16+)
- Main Lobby Greeters (16+)
- Administrative roles (18+)
Inpatient Areas
- Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) (18+)
- Inpatient Visiting Program (16+)
- Pre-Operative Registration (18+)
- Day Surgery (18+)
- CT Scan (18+)
- Emergency Department (18+)
- ICU volunteer (18+)
- On-Call Spiritual Care Provider (additional qualifications required) (18+)
- Baby Blessing Program (additional qualifications required) (18+)
We have many volunteers in both Outpatient and Inpatient areas where various shifts are offered Monday-Sunday at varying points of the day. Our volunteers contribute valuable support and assistance at GGH, making a positive impact on patients, families, staff and our community as a whole.
About our Scheduling
Our schedules for all volunteer programs operate as either Fixed our Self-Scheduled:
- Fixed: same shift, same time, every week- consistently * 1 shift per week
- Self-Scheduled: shifts are posted in advance and our volunteers can pick and choose which shifts work for you each week * only 1 shift per week permitted
Outpatient Areas
Gift Shop (16+) **Volunteers Needed
The primary focus of the Gift Shop volunteer is to provide exceptional customer service by knowing the products and their prices and to create a welcoming environment to those that visit the shop.
Shift times: We are now open Monday to Thursday 10-4, Friday 11-3, and Saturday 12-4 (thirty-two hours a week!)
Main Lobby Greeters (16+) **Volunteers Needed
The purpose of the Main Lobby Greeter is to enhance the patent experience by offering a warm and friendly face to those that need it through greeting, offering directions and escorting patients to where they need to go and answering any questions patients and visitors may have.
Shift times: Fixed schedule: Monday-Friday 8am-12noon
Administrative roles (18+)
Foundation Volunteer * At Capacity- No longer recruiting at this time
The primary function of the Foundation Volunteer is to assist the department in its day–to-day activities. The Foundation Volunteer will assist the staff (s) in general office duties as required.
Shift times: schedule may vary each week
Bariatric Clinic Administrative Volunteer (18+) * At Capacity- No longer recruiting at this time
The primary function of the Bariatric Volunteer is to assist with the organization and day-to-day activities of the Bariatric clinic
Shift times: schedule may vary each week
Inpatient Areas
Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) (18+) *Volunteers Needed
The primary purpose of the HELP volunteer is to do their best to provide a positive experience for patients while they are enrolled in the HELP program. Responsibilities include:
- Orientation- Reorienting patient to time, date and place as assigned
- Feeding Assistance- meal assistance and companionship
- Early Mobilization- assistance with walking and simple exercises
- Therapeutic Activities- activities to keep patients mentally stimulated during hospital stay
- Relaxation/Sleep Enhancement- provide a variety of relaxation exercises to promote sleep
Shift times: Fixed schedule: Monday-Sunday: 1:00am-1:00pm; 1:00pm-4:00pm; 4:00pm-7:00pm
Inpatient Visiting Program (16+) *Volunteers Needed
Most of the people at the hospital are experiencing stress as a result of their own or a loved one’s injury or illness. The primary purpose of the Inpatient Visiting volunteer is to do their best to provide a positive experience for patients and visitors while they are in the hospital. Currently our volunteers visit 1:1 with patients on 5West and 6West and will be expanding this program to the following units: 4E, 4W and 7E.
Shift times: Self-scheduled: Monday-Sunday: 9:00am-1:00pm; 1:00pm-3:00pm; 4:30pm-6:30pm
Pre-Operative Registration (18+) ** At Capacity- No longer recruiting at this time
Our pre-op registration volunteers provide a welcoming and friendly face to patients waiting to register for their surgery. Volunteers will welcome patients to the unit, have patients pre-register for their surgery and direct them to the registration clerk for check-in.
Shift times: Self-scheduled: Monday Friday: 9:00am-1:00pm
Day Surgery (18+) *** At Capacity- No longer recruiting at this time
The Day Surgery volunteer is responsible for liaising with Surgical Day Care – pre-operative Registration Volunteer to escort family/friends to patient once they are returned to the day surgery unit. Our volunteers ill support staff and patients in making sure supplies are stocked and that patients feel supported before and after their surgery.
Shift times: Self-scheduled: Monday-Friday: 8:30am-11:30am; 11:00am-2:00pm; 3:30pm-7:30pm
CT Scan (18+)** At Capacity- No longer recruiting at this time
The CT scan volunteer is responsible for welcoming patients to the unit, making sure patient is dressed properly for their scan (i.e.: proper clothing/jewelry removed) and visit with patients prior to and after scan especially if they are alone.
Shift times: Self-scheduled Monday-Friday: 12noon-2:30pm; 2:30-5:00pm
Emergency Department (18+) * At Capacity- No longer recruiting at this time
The ED volunteer is responsible for acknowledge everyone who comes into the department (working alongside security), providing assistance to patients/visitors arriving through the emergency entrance and directing patients to the triage area. Our ED volunteers keep the flow of traffic in our waiting rooms, comfort patients and visitors and escort patients and visitors to where they need to go.
Shift times: Fixed schedule: Monday-Sunday: 9:00am-1:00pm; 1:00pm-4:00pm
ICU volunteer (18+) * At Capacity- No longer recruiting at this time
Our ICU volunteers are responsible for welcoming and assist in wayfinding for visitors who come to the ICU entrance, orienting families to the unit and where their loved one is located, meeting with families to distribute the PREF surveys, 1:1 visiting with patients and supporting our staff and patients during dinner hours.
Shift times: Fixed schedule: Monday-Sunday: 8:30am-11:30am; 1:00pm-4:00pm; 4:30pm-7:30pm
Thank you very much for taking the time to complete the online application, once you have submitted the required information, (including submitting 2 references) we will proceed with next steps. Note that it may take time for applications to be processed so please be patient.
As part of our commitment to the health and safety of our patients, staff and our community from COVID-19, subject to any accommodation required by applicable human rights legislation, Guelph General Hospital requires that all staff (this includes volunteers) have received all required doses of a COVID-19 vaccine approved by Health Canada prior to their start date.
It is mandatory that our volunteers go through our immunization health review and TB Skin Testing:
I understand that starting my volunteer position is conditional upon:
- Submission of two (2) written references
- Successful completion of the Health Review Immunization Form and 2-Step TB Skin Testing
- Completion of a Police Vulnerable Sector Check (18 years of age & older)
- Completion of mandatory e-Learning Modules
- Meeting the qualifications of the volunteer position description
- Completion of volunteer orientation and department specific training