Inova Alexandria Hospital

By volunteering with Inova’s Retail team and dedicating just 4 hours a week, you become part of something bigger. Your time, compassion and commitment help make a difference for patients and families every day by helping fund Inova’s programs and services. We couldn’t do what we do without you and your support. 

Duties include learning and staying current with store merchandise, assisting customers with purchases, operating the computer register, assisting staff with stocking, and keeping shop, stockrooms and inventory clean and orderly.

This position could be at a hospital site gift shop or a community thrift shop. 

Support the smooth and efficient operation of the hospital by completing assigned tasks that assist patients, staff or departments. Volunteering in one of our Discharge Support roles is a great way to learn the hospital and get a glimpse of the pace of the environment and the many departments and professionals involved in patient care and safety.

Primary tasks include discharging and transporting patients; delivering flowers and/or mail to patients; conducting errands on behalf of hospital staff; and contributing towards the accessibility of the hospital through maintaining visitor wheelchairs at entrances. This role builds and utilizes strong interpersonal skills as you interact closely with other volunteers, patients, visitors and staff members.

Please note: This role requires walking and pushing patients in wheelchairs regularly throughout shift. Wheelchair training will be provided.

Outpatient registration volunteers are often a patient's first impression with an Inova department or site! Main tasks include: greeting visitors and patients, assisting with kiosk registration, providing wayfinding assistance, maintaining waiting area, problem solving, answering phones and clerical projects. 

Our Information Desk Volunteers are the first interaction that patients and visitors have at Inova. Duties include: greeting and providing hospitality, information, escort and liaison services to visitors, patients, and their companions who are accessing the hospital through the visitor entrance. This is a proactive position and requires volunteers who are friendly and ready to help with the needs and questions of whoever presents in front of them.

Volunteers in our patient units would be assigned to a specific unit and become a part of that team. Possible units may include but are not limited to: medical/surgical units, intensive care units, emergency departments, post-surgical units and specialty areas like postpartum.

A volunteer with our inpatient unit provides supplemental services for the patients at the direction of nursing personnel and the unit secretary. You will help create a warm, supportive atmosphere for the patient and the family. Depending on unit, duties may include providing companionship and conversation with patients, answering call bells, discharging patients and stocking supplies. This role builds and utilizes strong interpersonal skills as you interact closely with patients and families.

Please note: A volunteer comfortable with taking initiative is a good fit for this role.

Supports Supply Chain team members in ensuring supplies are organized and delivered efficiently to units. Routinely monitors products for expiration and collaborates with team member for next course of action. Provides resolution that all stock supplies are replenished in clean supply rooms. Organizes stock items in warehouse to ensure efficient work flow. Supports the small equipment team in ensuring the collection, sanitation and inventory of small equipment.

This is a great assignment for hands on experience in a department that is crucial to the daily operations of the hospital. Not patient facing, but will have lots of interaction with various staff members and get to know the physical layout of hospital extremely well.

Special note: This assignment requires a high volume of standing / walking. 

These volunteers assists our surgical units to include pre-op, post anesthesia, cardiovascular interventional radiology and gastroenterology. A volunteer in this area does a variety of tasks including: checking in patients and family members for outpatient surgical procedures, being a resource to patient's loved ones while they are in surgery by rounding in the waiting room. This role may also assist with some clerical duties like answering phones and putting together paperwork for the team as well as restocking in the patient care areas and assisting with discharging patients by wheelchair. 

Provides supplemental services for the ED patients and their family members, creating a warm and supportive atmosphere. The primary role is to attend to visitors, families and patients serving as a liaison between them and ED staff, restock supplies in rooms, round on patients to offer comfort items like warm blankets, and generally assist nursing staff with nonclinical duties. Please note: A volunteer comfortable with taking initiative is a good fit for this role.