A total of 5,642 volunteers contributed 11,843 hours of service to The Johns Hopkins Hospital last year. Answering call bells, keeping patients company and stocking supplies such as gowns, bandages and thermometers are just a few of the ways people from the community give back to the hospital.

Kia-Lillian Hayes, manager of volunteer services, says some of the hospital’s most popular positions are in the child life department, oncology units and emergency departments, where almost 140 volunteers are currently serving.

The adult and pediatric emergency departments’ volunteer programs receive several hundred applications each year, and can only accept 2 to 5 percent of the candidates. The emergency department volunteers are chosen after a thorough review process by a selection committee of emergency department volunteers trained by Johns Hopkins Medicine experts in diversity and inclusion, application review and interviewing.

Volunteers in the ED help patients by responding to requests for pillows and blankets, checking wristbands for improper labeling and shadowing physicians and residents.

“Volunteers complete advanced volunteer training so they can provide services not traditionally seen in clinical volunteer programs,” says Robert Besch, chief of staff for the ED volunteer programs. “This helps them address the needs of some of the most vulnerable patients in the city, all in a safe and compassionate way.”

Hayes and her team are developing a new wayfinding program. “Volunteers will be positioned in high-traffic areas where visitors often find themselves lost,” she says. “We’re hoping this new program enhances the patient and visitor experience.”

The volunteers’ efforts do not go unnoticed. Every year, The Johns Hopkins Hospital hosts a luncheon during National Volunteer Week (April 15–21 this year) to recognize volunteers who completed at least 75 hours of service in one year.

Departments interested in having a volunteer for their work area can email [email protected]. For more information, visit hopkinsmedicine.org/ volunteer_services/index.html.