Volunteering is Good for You

Volunteering

Spotlight on the Trinitas Volunteers Department

 



Recent research has indicated that serving others might be the essence of good health, helping to ward off loneliness, depression and possibly even lowering blood pressure. With those kinds of rewards, it's no wonder around 62.6 million people volunteered through or for an organization over the past couple of years in the United States!

Volunteerism At Trinitas Regional Medical Center
Volunteers at Trinitas Regional Medical Center are an important part of our hospital family. These dedicated individuals donate their time and efforts to supplement and extend the activities of our employees.

The Volunteer program at Trinitas helps to hold down escalating healthcare costs as we continue to offer the highest quality service to our patients and community.

In 2015, our 309 volunteers, ranging from 14 to 95 years of age, provided 52,018 hours of service to the hospital, and volunteered in over 52 different departments.  One of our volunteers has been here for 32 years! In total, they have donated 716 years of service.

The Role Of A Volunteer: Patient Care
Volunteers supplement our employees in many ways: transporting patients, escort service, comforting and entertaining patients within the hospital through several programs, such as Spirit of Service and  Reach Out and Read.

Elder Life Program (HELP)
This program was created in 2013. It is designed to prevent delirium (acute confusion) by keeping hospitalized older patients oriented to their surroundings. This is done by promoting activities, adequate nutrition and fluids, and a calm environment. Our volunteers offer older patients extra special attention that could ultimately improve their overall hospital stay.

To be involved in this area, volunteers receive specific training and play a key role in carrying out interventions that are created for each patient in the program on an individual basis. To date 63 volunteers have participated.

If you'd like more in depth information about this program, HELP was spotlighted in a previous blog post.

Patients' Families
Volunteers work at the Information Desk and provide visitors with information and assistance as needed. Volunteers also offer families in the Surgical Waiting Room coffee/tea and various reading materials and games, as well as providing limited patient information.

Clerical/Computer
Other non-clinical areas such as Administration, Medical Offices, Finance, the Library, Public Relations, Human Resources and the Lab are also supported by volunteers who assist with clerical and computer skills.

Seniors First
Trinitas Regional Medical Center's commitment to the needs of seniors is reflected in our Seniors First program, which is an all-in-one approach to care for seniors and their caregivers. Volunteers serve as Seniors First escorts, and in helping older patients find their way around the hospital.

Support Services
Volunteers also supplement the paid staff in such service areas as Building Management, Dietary, Warehouse and Transportation.

Community Outreach
Many volunteers are recruited from local schools and colleges focusing on the specific needs of the Hospital. In addition, agreements with such programs as: Community Work Experience (Welfare), Union County College and various others provide work experience through community outreach.

Our volunteers also assist in Health Fairs, Screening Programs, and other public advocacy efforts.

Patient Liason
Volunteers visit patients to welcome them to the medical center. They also advise patients as to how to register their concerns regarding any unmet needs.  Volunteers also provide blankets, ice water, and reading materials. This program began in 2009, and 186 volunteers to date have participated.

Animal Assisted Activities Program
Trinitas also offers special volunteer program that offers patients visits by specially trained animals!

Awards
* The Morris & Charlotte Rudner Memorial Award is presented to an outstanding adult volunteer in memory of Nadine Brechner's (Trinitas Health Foundation) parents
* Janet Memorial Teen Award is presented to an outstanding teen volunteer

Hours Of Operation
The Volunteer Services Office is open Monday through Friday from 8am-4pm. The Information Desk is open 8am-8 pm, Monday through Friday and 9am-8pm Saturday and Sunday. Volunteers are assigned to various areas during their specific hours of operation within the 8am-8pm daily schedules. An added benefit is that all Trinitas volunteers receive free, on-site parking as well as free lunch each day they work!

How To Become A Volunteer
To become a volunteer, stop by the Volunteer Office to pick up an application, fill it out and return it in the postage paid envelope. You may also phone the Volunteer Office to request an application at
908-994-5164.

References:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/volunteering-may-be-good-for-body-and-mind-201306266428

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.nr0.htm

What is Hospital Delirium?

Hospital Delirium

by Guest Blogger Johanna Thomas, Trinitas Elder Life Clinician



A few years ago I visited my 89 year old father in law at the hospital after his hip replacement surgery.  Having been told that the surgery went well and that he was even joking with the nurses, I was surprised to find him acting a little “off”.  He insisted on getting dressed even though we repeatedly told him he was staying for a few days.  Minutes later he tried to tip the dietary associate because he thought we were at a restaurant.  This might not sound alarming for someone who just had hip surgery but I informed the nurse that he was "not his usual self".  When I got home that evening, the hospital staff informed us that my father in law, usually a very pleasant man, had become somewhat restless, angry, and was trying to leave.  For safety, he was restrained and required additional staff supervision for the remainder of the night.  

This is not an uncommon scenario for a hospitalized older patient.  Hospital Acquired Delirium (HAD) is an under recognized but very serious condition.  A person experiencing acute confusion could become disoriented, have bizarre thoughts and ideas, or might experience hallucinations.  Older patients have a higher risk for experiencing delirium.  Dehydration, infection, and/or a side effect of a medication can all be reasons why an otherwise “sharp as a tack” elder could become delirious during hospitalization.  It is important to remember that, unlike dementia, delirium is reversible.  With a few simple steps, caregivers can help in the prevention or reduction of delirium. 

          The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey (HFNJ) understands the importance of using proven and cost-effective measures to prevent or reduce the onset of delirium, and in 2013 HFNJ awarded Trinitas Regional Medical Center with its first Delirium Prevention Initiative grant.  Trinitas subsequently adapted the Hospital Elder Life Program (H.E.L.P.) model founded by Dr. Sharon Inouye, a pioneer in delirium research and prevention.  The original program allows volunteers to feed patients.  Although our volunteers do not feed patients, they provide bedside companionship during mealtimes to encourage the importance of nutrition.   

        H.E.L.P. consists of an interdisciplinary team and specially trained volunteers who perform daily protocols with patients 65 years and older.  Daily orientation visits, feeding encouragement during mealtimes, bedside therapeutic activities, and non-pharmacological sleep protocols (such as hand massages and soothing music) are part of the structured therapies offered by the HELP volunteers. 

 

Our H.E.L.P. patients are also offered music from the Medical Library’s World Music Collection.  The collection of world music has been well received, as noted on their surveys, by many of our patients who have been able to listen to music from their native country.  
 

We have a diverse group of volunteers that consists of college students, graduate students, working adults and retirees.  Most recently, we have added a few highly qualified high school students to our program. 

 

At home, family and caregivers of at-risk elders can also aide in preventing their loved one from experiencing acute confusion.  The Hospital Elder Life Program website offers tips to help reduce the risk of delirium.  Some include:

• Prepare a “medical information sheet” listing all allergies, names and phone numbers of physicians, the name of the patient’s usual pharmacy and all known medical conditions. Also, be sure all pertinent medical records have been forwarded to the doctors who will be caring for the patient
• Bring glasses, hearing aids (with fresh batteries), and dentures to the hospital. Older persons do better if they can see, hear and eat
• Bring in a few familiar objects from home. Things such as family photos, a favorite  comforter or blanket for the bed, rosary beads, a beloved book and relaxation tapes can be quite comforting

·    Help orient the patient throughout the day. Speak in a calm, reassuring tone of voice, and tell the patient where he is and why he is there

·    Stay with the hospitalized patient as much as possible. During an acute episode of delirium, relatives should try to arrange shifts so someone can be present around the clock

Source:  www.hospitalelderlifeprogram.org

For more information on the delirium prevention, please visit: http://www.hospitalelderlifeprogram.org

 

        If you would like to be a part of our enthusiastic and rewarding H.E.L.P. Team at Trinitas RMC, please visit http://trinitashospital.org/volunteer_services.htm and click on “links to application form”. 

 

You may also contact Johanna Thomas, Elder Life Clinician or Diana Noboa, Elder Life Assistant at (908-994-5620). 

 



Why We Offer a Standing Computer Station: "Sitting is the New Smoking"

One Medical Library's Approach to Encourage Patron Wellness

    

            Thanks to a small grant from the Trinitas Health Foundation, the Medical Library was able to incorporate a new standing desk computer station in early June 2016. 

            There were several reasons why this type of desk station was introduced into the library: customer demand for an additional computer, space limitations, and health benefits.  Yes, health benefits!  

             Dr. James Levine, director of the Mayo Clinic-Arizona State University Obesity Solutions Initiative and inventor of the treadmill desk, who has been studying the adverse effects of increasingly sedentary lifestyles for years, concluded, “Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death.” In fact, Levine is credited with coining the phrase, “sitting is the new smoking.”  The reason this is so dangerous is because when you sit for long periods, sluggish blood flow can set the stage for a blood clot to form.  

              A recent study of more than 100,000 men and women also supported this conclusion.  It found those who sat for more than six hours a day were more likely to have died from cardiovascular disease over the course of the 14-year study than those who sat for less than three hours a day. This held true even among those who exercised regularly!

              "Overall, current evidence suggests that both standing and treadmill desks may be effective in improving overall health considering both physiological and mental health components," stated an article from Preventive Magazine.

              Digging deeper, there are a myriad of reasons why standing for a bit of time instead of sitting is better for you: 

1. A standing workstation could increase HDL cholesterol: the "good" cholesterol
2. 18 participants in one study who used a standing desk for three months lost some weight
3. Seven studies of standing desks, totaling 220 participants, found they had very little impact on typical work tasks (typing).  In one telling study, employees using a sit-stand workstation for four hours a day during on work week had no significant difference number of characters typed per minute or typing errors made when standing compared to sitting. 
4. In one seven-week study using a standing desk use, participants not only reported less fatigue, tension, confusion, and depression, but more vigor, energy, focus, and happiness. Even more significant, when they returned to their seated desks, their overall mood returned to baseline levels.

One of our hospital employees trying out the Library's new standing station.





             
             By the way, this idea isn't exactly new. While they may not have had studies backing up their preference to stand up while working, Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway, and even Donald Rumsfeld all reportedly used stand-up desks.

            

             The win here is that standing more might help you live longer-- and also improve your mood in the process. At our Medical Library, we are excited to offer our new standing station, and knowing we are doing our part to contribute to wellness.

update: 7/25/16
"Sedentary time at very high levels is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease independent of other well-established risk factors, including low physical activity and high body-mass index." Dr Ambarish Pandey (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas) and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of nine prospective cohort studies published before July 6, 2015 covering 720,425 participants (mean age 54.5, 57.1% women) and 25,769 unique cardiovascular events. Median follow-up came to 11 years.

The meta-analysis was published online July 13, 2016 in JAMA Cardiology
 

references:

http://www.fastcodesign.com/3045217/evidence/everything-science-knows-right-now-about-standing-desks

 

https://hbr.org/2010/08/the-many-benefits-of-standing/

 

http://www.prevention.com/health/healthy-living/how-make-your-own-standing-desk

 

http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/172/4/419.abstract

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/866458