Wisdom of the Ages
Hospitals seek out older volunteers
Some volunteer directors are targeting recruitment efforts to reel in the older set by posting fliers in retirement neighborhoods and centers, coaxing retiring employees to return as volunteers, and contacting school alumni. The push, of course, also helps the hospital's bottom line. On average, the market value of the labor donated by hospital volunteers each year is worth about $1 million per hospital, says Narasimhan Srinivasan, associate professor in marketing at the University of Connecticut School of Business.
Hospitals are also competing for volunteers with other organizations such as museums, food banks, and religious groups. "Sorry, I'm helping at the food bank. That's the food bank day," a volunteer told Kelly Bowland, manager of volunteer services at University of Colorado Hospital in Denver, when he asked a volunteer about coming to a hospital activity on another day.
Many hospitals are trying to make their volunteer programs more attractive to adults. Some are creating flexible programs to adapt to retirees' busy schedules. At Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, volunteer director Daisy McNeill says adult volunteers can come in anytime on their designated day. Some hospitals also offer perks like free lunches or parking or seminars on new medical procedures and drugs.
Boomer thing. The newest crop of retirees turning to volunteerism also want meaningful work that taps into professional expertise or that offers direct patient interaction, says Audrey Harris, executive director of the American Society of Directors of Volunteer Services, a division of the American Hospital Association. "That's the boomer thing." At Integris, for example, retired nurses serve on review panels that award scholarships to nurses who are continuing their education. Veteran nurses sometimes interview six to 20 candidates and help decide who gets funding from a hospital auxiliary, McNeill says. "So much more than coming on Monday morning and delivering mail."
At the University of Colorado Hospital, the hearing screening program for newborns is a popular post for adult volunteers. They perform the test and deliver positive results to the parents; a medical professional delivers negative news. "I like babies," says Joan Sellinghausen, 70, who has volunteered with the program since 1991, a year after she retired. "If you do the test on them and there's something wrong," she says, "help can be given to them." For Sellinghausen and her fellow volunteers, knowing they've made a difference makes it all worthwhile.
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