Along with the opening of Mid Coast Hospital's new emergency department was the creation of a new volunteer program. Volunteer greeters are now helping patients and families coming into emergency department to get to their destinations.
Most need to go immediately to see the triage nurse, while others could be looking for a patient's room, Café, main information desk, x-ray or lab.
Volunteers point people in the right direction and make patients and families feel as comfortable as they can in the waiting area. Warm blankets are offered to patients if necessary and hot coffee or tea is offered to families. Volunteers watch for patients to arrive and meet them curbside with a wheelchair, if the situation warrants it. While the driver parks the car, volunteers have the patient inside on the way to the triage nurse and completing forms before treatment.
Volunteers also run errands for registration and the switchboard, which are near the two triage nurse offices. Volunteers now wear a "locater" like the nursing staff so that emergency department staff can find them quickly.
They may keep track of families of emergency patients and will retrieve them if necessary. They may help with the discharge of patients easily treated in "quick care" by the triage nurse. The volunteers are team players who know that working together with staff will enhance patients' visits.