Volunteer Opportunities
Can I volunteer at New Orleans East Hospital?
Our volunteers are caring, dedicated, and committed to helping others by giving their time and sharing their talents. Our staff depends on and appreciates the many contributions our volunteers make in creating quality experiences for our patients and visitors.
If you would like to connect to your community, create new relationships, and add meaning to your life, consider becoming a hospital volunteer.
Volunteer tasks
Volunteers have the opportunity to serve in multiple capacities with us.
Guest relations
Family liaisons: Volunteers serve as family liaisons in Emergency, Intensive Care, and other family waiting areas in the hospital by offering a comforting environment for families waiting for news about their loved one. They provide reading materials and information about the hospital and surrounding area while keeping visitors informed of a patient’s progress.
Information desk: For those who enjoy high public interaction, the hospital’s information desks are an ideal location. These volunteers direct visitors throughout the facility, answer phones, give visitors patients’ room numbers and help locate doctors’ offices. The volunteers also receive flowers, gifts, and mail for patients.
Ambassadors/greeters: Our ambassadors may be the first person a patient or family meets as they enter the hospital. These volunteers welcome, greet, direct, and accompany patients and guests throughout the hospital.
Patient support
- Book cart: Volunteers visit patients on hospital floors and clinical waiting areas providing reading materials from the Volunteer Services Library.
- Chaplaincy: The Chaplains serve multiple needs. Eucharistic ministry volunteers/Chaplaincy brings communion to those who wish to receive the sacrament. Other Chaplains provide support, comfort, and counseling to patients, their families, and guests.
Staff support
Administrative: Volunteers assist the hospital’s administrative staff with answering phones, copying, filing, data entry, and assembling materials. Opportunities are open to volunteers who would like to gain office experience. This experience is in a hospital environment which is limited to specific department volunteers who may also assist administration with various other projects.
Courier: Deliver supplies and equipment vital to patient care, restock incoming product, perform inventory counts, and assemble materials as needed in the Supply Department. Volunteers may collect and distribute wheelchairs and dozens of other in-hospital errands. Volunteers are caring, dedicated, and committed to helping others. They give of their time and share their talents.
Ready to learn more?
For more information, please contact the Volunteer Services Coordinator Monday through Friday from 8:30am-4pm at 504.592.6665.
Our adult volunteers contribute to the comfort and care of our patients and their families. We aim to develop a fulfilling volunteer experience by matching your unique skills with our organization's needs. See the information below to learn about screening requirements, the application process, volunteer positions, and more!
Requirements:
- Must be at least 18 years of age
- Commit to 100 hours of service per year. Typical shifts are 2-4 hours.
- Must complete all steps in the volunteer onboarding process
- Must attend mandatory orientation held in a group setting
- Successfully passed background check.
-
Complete your mandatory employee health screening appointment. Your health
screen includes
- A urine drug screen
- Bloodwork for tuberculosis (TB) and any missing titers (antibody tests)
- Administering any missing vaccines
-
Vaccines required to volunteer are:
- Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
- Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis)
- Varicella (Chickenpox)
Process:
1. Complete a volunteer application online using this form.
2. Upon submitting your application, you will receive an email with a link to schedule your interview. You are expected to schedule your interview to move forward with the volunteer onboarding process.
- Volunteers will have an opportunity to discuss placement interests during their interview and those interests will be considered. We are a need-based program and cannot guarantee placement in a specific area. We ask that Volunteers be willing to serve in all areas of UMC. Please also remember that volunteering is not shadowing, it is providing selfless service.
3. Volunteer Services will schedule your NOEH Employee Health screening, free of charge, and verify your successful background check.
4. New volunteers must attend a mandatory in person orientation.
5. Confirm your volunteer shift and placement. Begin volunteering the week following orientation.New Orleans East Hospital has screening requirements in place for all volunteers to help protect the health and safety of patients, visitors, and staff members. These requirements include:
- Tuberculosis (TB) test within the last three months
- Documentation of Tdap immunization (valid for 10 years)
- Documentation of two Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccinations
- Documentation of two Varicella vaccinations
- Toxicology screening
- Documentation of flu vaccination if applying during flu season (October 1 - March 31)
- Hepatitis B vaccination is recommended but not required.
Employee Health can provide these screenings and vaccinations to adult volunteers who need them to complete the onboarding process.
Becoming a junior volunteer is a great way to learn new skills, make new friends, and discover your passions. We'll provide you with the training and support you need to succeed. Our junior volunteers are assigned to age-appropriate tasks to ensure positive and safe volunteer experience.
Requirements:
- Must be between 15-17 years of age
- Commit to four weeks of service (for a total of 48 hours) during the summer
- Shifts are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays from 9 am – 1 pm
- Must be available for full session (either June 1, 2026 – June 26, 2026 or July 6, 2026 – July 31, 2026)
- Must attend mandatory orientation held in a group setting on May 28th, 2026 during business hours
- Successfully passed background check
-
Submit your vaccination records by May 15, 2026. You will not be able to
volunteer unless we have proof of the following required immunizations:
- Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
- DTdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis)
- Varicella (Chickenpox)
- Tuberculosis test (within the last 3 months)
Our adult volunteers contribute to the comfort and care of our patients and their families. We aim to develop a fulfilling volunteer experience by matching your unique skills with our organization's needs.
Requirements
- Must be at least 18 years of age
- Commit to 100 hours of service per year. Typical shifts are 2 – 4 hours.
- Must complete all steps in the volunteer onboarding process
- Must attend mandatory orientation held in a group setting
- Successfully passed background check.
-
Complete your mandatory employee health screening appointment. Your health
screen includes
- A urine drug screen
- Bloodwork for tuberculosis (TB) and any missing titers (antibody tests)
- Administering any missing vaccines
- Vaccines required to volunteer are:
- Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
- Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis)
- Varicella (Chickenpox)
We welcome the generosity of our community! If your group is interested in volunteering at UMC, providing in-kind donations, or hosting a fundraiser, please reach out to our Volunteer Services team at UMC-Volunteers@lcmchealth.org.
Some of our greatest support comes from schools, businesses, clubs, and faith communities whose members give their time and talents, even outside the hospital, to complete projects that bring comfort and joy to our patients and their families.
The Group Volunteer Program is a great opportunity to volunteer for:
- Schools
- Corporate groups
- Clubs
- Sports teams
- Faith-based groups
Fundraising:
Fundraising initiatives are vital to providing much needed support to patients and the hospital.
Monetary donations are valued because they are used to purchase the most needed items for patients in need such as medications and medical equipment.
Contact the Spirit of Charity Foundation to begin planning your fundraising activities and projects.
In-Kind Donations:
Many community members are interested in supporting UMC, but wish to provide support through donated items instead of monetary gifts.
We enthusiastically accept donations year-round to support the needs of our patients.
You can donate these items individually or with a group (school, church, work, etc.) to complete a larger project.
Commonly needed items include: colored pencils, fine point markers, adult coloring books, card games, word search/crossword puzzle books, books, journals, magazines, grippy fuzzy socks, blankets, and travel sized toiletries.
Some of our greatest support comes from schools, businesses, clubs, and faith communities whose members give their time and talents, even outside the hospital, to complete projects that bring comfort and joy to our patients and their families.*All donated in-kind items must be new in originally packaging.