Volunteer Common Questions

Our volunteer opportunities are customer-service based and non-clinical. We offer a wide variety of volunteer positions and we are constantly evolving our program so that we can offer more. From greeting patients at the registration desk to knitting for the babies in the NICU, volunteers have the opportunity to engage in work that they love doing. It is our hope that by offering a wide variety of positions, there will be something to fit the talents and interests of each of our volunteers.

We want your volunteer work at Hillcrest to reflect you — your skills, your needs, your experience, your interests. Discover which volunteer positions are a good fit for you by visiting our Volunteer Positions page.

If you explore our volunteer positions but don’t find something that seems right for you, please speak to one of our volunteer coordinators about it. They are constantly seeking new ideas to implement, new positions to add, and new ways to build up our program.

Yes, almost every position involves some patient interaction. We have a number of volunteer positions that you might enjoy, such as friendly visiting, patient floors mail delivery or patient transportation. These positions involve visiting with our patients, stopping by their rooms and hand-delivering their mail or flowers, and assisting them to their destinations. To see a full description of positions, visit our Volunteer Positions page.

Yes and no. Volunteering in a hospital in general wil give you real medical experience. But all of our volunteer positions are non-clinical.

You must be at least 18 years old to volunteer at Hillcrest.

No. We offer positions for all ages and abilities, and most of our volunteer positions require little to no physical strain. What is most important to us is that you are doing what you feel comfortable doing. Some of our most valuable volunteers are those who simply sit and talk with our patients and visitors.

Some volunteer positions do require more walking (like patient transportation volunteers, mail and flower delivery volunteers, and patient floor volunteers). However, in several of our positions, our volunteers remain at their station throughout their shift.

We ask that our volunteers commit to spending at least 60 hours at Hillcrest, but you make the choice of completing those 60 hours in half a year or a whole year. Most of our volunteers come for their shift once a week; however, this is not a requirement. We value whatever amount of time you can give us. If coming once or twice a month is a better fit for your schedule, then we are happy to see you that often.

At Hillcrest, we understand that life is busy. Giving of your time to volunteer is a great sacrifice, which is why we want volunteering at Hillcrest to be on your time and fit into your schedule. We typically ask our volunteers to choose which days of the week and morning or afternoon time slots work best for them, so that we can build a schedule together.

We understand when life events sometimes interfere with your volunteer shift. We do not expect you to find a replacement for your shift — we will take care of that. We simply ask that you please call one of our volunteer coordinators if you know you won’t be able to make it ahead of time.

Volunteering at Hillcrest is not only a time of service but also a social opportunity and a time for bonding with family members or friends. Now, at Hillcrest, a mom can get the chance to spend some time with her teenage daughter, a grandfather with his grandson, and two old friends will get the opportunity to see each other more often.

No experience is necessary to become a volunteer at Hillcrest. Individuals from a variety of backgrounds make for great volunteers, including retirees, working adults, stay-at-home parents and college students. In becoming a volunteer, an individual must complete an application and background check, meet with a volunteer coordinator, attend volunteer orientation and complete an employee health application.

TB tests (or PPD Skin Tests) are mandatory for all volunteers. At Hillcrest, we make it easy for you by providing a free TB test on-site. Talk to your volunteer coordinator about where you will need to go to get your TB test taken and read. And remember, you must come back to have your results read two to three days after the test.

Our volunteer orientation is split into two parts:

1. The first part orientation takes about three hours. It includes numerous informational videos and paperwork.
2. The second part of your volunteer orientation takes about 45 minutes. We will discuss your volunteer schedule and any volunteer positions that interest you. You will be given a tour of the facilities and receive your Hillcrest ID. This may seem like a long process, but these steps are necessary to maintain a safe environment at Hillcrest. We hope the tour will help you become more acquainted with our facilities and feel more at home at Hillcrest.

At Hillcrest, our volunteers wear vests or polos, which proudly identify each of them as a “Volunteer at Hillcrest.” We ask our volunteers to wear black, khaki or white pants or skirt.

There is free, reserved parking for our volunteers on the Hillcrest Medical Center Campus in the employee parking lot, as well as the option of free valet parking at the main entrances to Hillcrest Medical Center and Oklahoma Heart Institute. At Hillcrest South, our volunteers park in the physician’s parking lot.

When you come to work your shift as a volunteer at Hillcrest, you can go directly to your volunteering location. (You are not required to visit a volunteer coordinator or the volunteer recreation area). We use an online time tracking system that is an app. Paper timesheets are also available.

We value the time our volunteers spend with us, so we do what we can to pamper them. It is for this reason that we offer a free meal in the hospital café to all of our volunteers after they finish a four-hour shift.

We want our volunteers to feel both appreciated and at home with Hillcrest HealthCare System. Thus, one of the greatest benefits of being a volunteer at Hillcrest is our commitment to making our hospitals and volunteer programs feel like a community.

Our volunteers will tell you that being around other Hillcrest volunteers, coordinators, and staff is like being surrounded by family. We work hard to create a welcoming and social environment for our volunteers. We have a blast celebrating birthdays and holidays. In fact, we love celebrating so much that every year in the spring we celebrate HealthCare Volunteer Appreciation Week. Outside of those celebrations, our volunteers gather at three general meetings each year for a volunteer banquet arranged by the volunteer coordinator. The culminating event of each year is our annual volunteer awards banquet, where we honor our outstanding volunteers.

Silver Elite is a free program created by Hillcrest exclusively for people ages 60+, where you can make friends, enjoy free health seminars, fun activities, and in-hospital benefits. If you are 60+, then when you become a volunteer at Hillcrest, you are offered a free membership in Silver Elite. Visit the Silver Elite website to learn about the program’s upcoming events and all of the perks of being a member.