POTSDAM -- St. Lawrence Health is restarting its volunteer program and is seeking help from the local community.

Following a hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, hospital officials say it is time to welcome back volunteers to the system's three hospitals.

Volunteers will have many opportunities to participate each week.

“The Volunteer Program is being restarted with a focus on Patient Experience. We are looking for individuals who are interested in assisting with patient rounding at the hospitals and helping to fulfill non-clinical requests. This could include getting warm blankets, visiting patient rooms with a care cart, reading to a patient, or a similar activity that enhances their comfort during their stay with us,” noted SLH Patient Experience Coordinator Danielle Caskinett.

Volunteers support the health system in running smoothly and efficiently by helping with non-clinical tasks that afford SLH team members additional time to focus directly on medical and clinical care, officials say.

“Volunteers also provide extra caring support to patients whose loved ones may not be able to be at their bedside as often as they would like,” Mrs. Caskinett said.

“We are looking for individuals who want to spend time helping patients to be as comfortable as possible during their stay in the hospital. Our volunteers play a valuable role in our health system, and we look forward to once again partnering with our North Country neighbors in these efforts,” she added.

Interested individuals are invited to email slhvolunteers@rochesterregional.org, or call Mrs. Caskinett at (315) 261-6092. She will follow up by scheduling an online interview with each candidate, and upon their acceptance into the program, new volunteers will be asked to complete an orientation process.

As with hired team members, SLH conducts background checks on all volunteers, and assures they have performed their health screening requirements – all at no cost to the individual.

To learn more about volunteering at Canton-Potsdam, Gouverneur, or Massena hospital, visit https://www.stlawrencehealthsystem.org/join-our-team/volunteers, where an electronic copy of the Volunteer Handbook is available for viewing. Those interested in becoming a volunteer member of a hospital Guild or Auxiliary, will also find information on this web page.