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Volunteer Requirements

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General Requirements
Before you Volunteer
• Personal Interview
•  Health Clearance
•  Volunteer Uniform
We enthusiastically welcome individuals of all backgrounds and abilities to volunteer their services to Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

General Requirements for Hospital Volunteers

Applicants must be:

  • At least 15 years old
  • 18 years of age to work directly with patients
  • In good physical and mental health
  • Able to communicate well in English (second language skills are a plus)
  • Complete two to three months of customer service training

Volunteer Commitment

Comprehensive testing, training, and orientations are provided for each volunteer at our hospital. We ask that each volunteer commit to completing 100 hours of service in no less than six months of consecutive service.

Please be patient with us as evening and weekend volunteer shifts are the most popular. As a result, receiving an assignment during these highly requested times may take longer.

Before You May Volunteer

The Volunteer Services Department will work with you to schedule completion of:

  • A three-hour General Orientation, usually held on weeknights
  • A two-hour Patient Care Orientation given by the Child Life Department
  • A personal interview with the Volunteer Coordinator
  • Health clearance through our Employee Health Services Department
  • Purchase of a volunteer uniform

Personal Interview

During the interview you will:

  • Complete a competency test related to working with hospitalized patients
  • Complete a competency test related to our Confidentiality Policy

Health Clearance Examination

The health clearance is necessary before you begin working with patients. It includes:

  • Written documentation of a minimum of two vaccinations for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) received as a child in individuals born after 1957, or one MMR given after the age of 17.
  • Verbal knowledge of having had chicken pox
  • TB skin test screening for tuberculosis (the hospital requires a two-step TB test - which may mean up to four visits to the Employee Health Services Department, or, in skin test-positive individuals, a written report of chest x-ray results taken within the previous year
  • Drug and alcohol screening

Volunteer Uniform

You will need to purchase and wear a uniform, which will cost $15.