An impressive list of achievements is testimony to Hadassah's vision and mission. Today, Hadassah Medical Organization continues to move forward, making the world a better place through healing, teaching, and research.
Hadassah's extensive network of satellite services provides community health care programs, specialized outpatient clinics and services in several city neighborhoods and nearby towns, as well as consultation clinics in the center of Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv.
Volunteering
Volunteers at Hadassah hospitals are welcome - from any man or woman (aged 16 years or more) who are willing and can commit to volunteering on a regular basis.
Volunteers allow Hadassah to improve the quality of service and patient care and to upgrade it, since they are used as reinforcements for Hadassah personnel and fill the roles of salaried workers.
Positions
Volunteers are an integral part of the hospital staff; certain roles are done only by professional staff trained for this but there is room for a lot of activity by the volunteers. The most significant service provided by the volunteer is their caring, warmth, smile, personal interest in the patient and his family, listening and removing the sense of loneliness, anxiety and boredom. All of these will improve the patient's feelings and help his recovery.
Areas of volunteering are determined jointly by the hospital and by Ya'al. Role descriptions are determined by the needs of the department, the skills required for the job and the volunteers' abilities to perform the tasks.
Much of the volunteer activity is done in the inpatient departments and the hospital clinics, where volunteers can make day to day contact with patients, their families and staff. Such activities are found in departments like orthopedics, surgery, the operating room, children's clinics, and the urology clinic. Sometimes volunteers contribute their time in units which do not come directly into contact with patients such as in the medical library, medical records, pharmacy, and kitchen.
Below are some examples of various areas of activities and the general skills required for their implementation:
Help in the outpatient clinics
Patients arrive at outpatients for testing and check-ups. Volunteers with the ability, flexibility, openness and initiative can perform such tasks as: welcoming the patient, helping to prepare for tests, dealing with the medical file and transferring it to the person handling the case, running errands and assisting in the various offices.
Help with office work
"Behind the scenes" of the hospital, a large office network allows the flow and regularity of the activities of the whole medical system. Meticulous volunteers who can file, photocopy and handle paperwork can contribute their abilities to the medical records unit and medical archives.
Help on the wards and in the emergency room
This activity complements the service provided to patients and their families by the medical and nursing staff.
Volunteers who can handle difficult situations, are open, have good interpersonal skills, flexibility and initiative can be a great support to the patients. They can help with serving food and feeding, help to make beds, escort patients to tests, help in preparing aid equipment for the department and run errands.
The areas of volunteering activity in the hospitals are diverse and flexible: it is possible for a volunteer to integrate into an existing workplace, to use a unique set of skills and even to develop in new areas altogether.
