| Area |
Discharge
Desk
|
| Job
Title |
Discharge
Ambassador/ Patient Escort
|
| Immediate
Supervisor: |
Information
Ambassadors and Volunteer Department Staff
|
| Objective: |
To assist
in the discharging of patients from the hospital
in a courteous and pleasant manner and to assist
in greeting and escorting patients to their appointments.
|
| Qualifications: |
- Ability to walk
and stand throughout a three-hour shift.
- Ability to push
patients in a wheelchair.
- Ability to act
calm and professionally at all times.
- Familiarity with
MGH a plus.
|
| Days
& Times Needed: |
|
Monday
- Friday
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
2:00 PM - 5:30 PM
5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Saturday and Sunday
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
|
| Duties
/ Responsibilities: |
Primary Responsibilites:
- Respond to discharge
calls from patient floors and write appropriate
information on index cards for other discharge
volunteers.
- Log requests into
log book.
- Meet and transport
patients via wheelchair to departing destination.
- Visit with patients
while awaiting departure vehicle.
Secondary Responsibilites:
- Assist information
desk staff with meeting the needs of visitors
and patients of the hospital.
- Assist information
desk staff with answering front desk telephones.
- Escort patients
and visitors to various hospital locations.
- As time permits,
retrieve wheelchairs and newspapers from seating
area.
|
| Limitations: |
- Volunteers should
respect patient confidentiality.
- Volunteers should
not discuss a patient's condition or verbalize
assumptions or opinions on patient conditions
or visitor inquiries.
- Volunteers must
wear their volunteer jackets and badges at all
times.
|
| Special
Notes: |
|
On occasion the Volunteer
Department may ask Discharge volunteers for their
help with special projects that may include but
are not limited to: Mailings for departments,
providing an impromptu tour of the hospital, staff
another position for which the volunteer is qualified,
staffing an information desk when vacant.
Volunteers should be aware of the Main Lobby location
for the Discharge Program, be attentive to our
patients and visitors, and not congregate at the
Front Desk.
Volunteers should not leave patients unattended
in wheelchairs. However, if your shift
is especially busy and you must leave a patient
unattended, follow these steps:
- Position the patient
near the windows to allow them to see his or
her ride as it drives up.
- Inform the patient
that the front desk staff and/ ambassadors will
assist him or her when departing the hospital.
- Alert the front
desk staff and/ or ambassadors that the patient
will need assistance to the curbside.
|
| Training
/ Orientations: |
- Fire Safety
- Standard Precautions
- Patient Confidentiality
- Completion
of at least one discharge shift.
- Completion of Discharge
Orientation including: ·
- Wheelchair
Safety
- Body Mechanics
- Completion of
a shadow shift of experienced discharge volunteer.
|
|
|
