Volunteer

The Denver Health volunteer program began in 1935 to help Denver Health to fulfill its threefold goal of patient care, education and research. The role of the volunteer is to supplement the professional staff, thereby freeing time to provide the best medical, nursing and support services to patients. Volunteers add the extra dimensions of empathy, sensitivity, warmth and friendliness to ease and brighten a patient’s hospital stay or clinic visit. Denver Health has about 200-350 active volunteers throughout the year.

Volunteer Requirements

To become a volunteer, you must be at least 16 years old. Volunteers are asked to commit to two or more hours of service per week to complete 100 hours in a 4-12 month period. Volunteering is not recommended if you cannot have the same set time each week. You must also be able to attend an orientation (evening orientations now offered bimonthly), pass a background check, complete a multi-step medical clearance with our Center for Occupational Safety and Health, and pass the online trainings. It can typically take about 2-4 weeks to get through the process before you can start volunteering. Please scroll down and refer to our volunteer services FAQs below for more information.

Volunteer Opportunities

All new volunteers must start as a Pathfinder for their first 16-32 hours unless recruited to volunteer with a specific department. Denver Health is a big campus and it is easy to get lost, our Pathfinders help patients and visitors to find their way to appointments, tests, visits, etc. with comfort and ease through the many buildings and departments. Pathfinders also help with hospital departments on projects as needed.

Donate your time in these areas:

• Book Cart: Volunteers visit each patient room in our medical surgery
  floors and offer a variety of books, magazines and puzzles. They also help
  in acquiring basic needs such as toiletries, reading glasses and phone
  chargers.
• Medical Surgery Floors: Volunteers help to stock rooms, meet patient
  needs, answer call lights and help support staff.
• Clerical Volunteers: Volunteers welcome people, organize paperwork, put
  together educational materials for new patients and make follow up calls.
• MyChart Sign-Up: Help our patients in the outpatient clinics sign up for
  MyChart, a secure online service that allows our patients simple health
  care management from any smartphone or computer, including prescription
  refills, make an appointment, and online bill pay.
• Pediatric Volunteers: Help our Child Life specialists in the DECC,
  Pediatric Unit, and Neonatal with our littlest patients! You will be
  hosting activities, help with events and care for our pediatric patients.
• Spiritual Care: Volunteers help the Spiritual Care Department in
  completing specific tasks that assist in addressing the spiritual and
  emotional needs of patients and visitors at Denver Health.
• Emergency Department: This is a busy, fast paced environment. Volunteers
  support patients, run errands and stock rooms in our Level 1 Trauma Center.
• Additional possibilities:
  • Human resources
  • Outpatient clinics

Apply To Become a Volunteer

Volunteer Application Steps:

1. Submit an online Volunteer Application application through our secure website.
2. Complete the two Reference Forms. (Please list two (2) persons not related to you who could speak to your qualifications.)
3. Email your Reference Forms to Debbie Salazar: Debra.Salazar@dhha.org.
4. Volunteer Services will contact you if your application is approved.

Questions? Contact:
Debbie Salazar, Volunteer Services Assistant, (303) 602-2926 or
Liz Matthews, Volunteer Coordinator, (303) 602-2929

Donations Needed

Are you interested in helping but not able to make the commitment required to become a consistent hospital volunteer? Donations are a great way to help! Donations are accepted in the volunteer office, located in the Volunteer and Patient Services Zone on the first floor of Pavilion C, Monday-Friday, 8 am - 4 pm. Outside of these hours, donations can be made at the main information desk in Pavilion A, the hospital’s main entrance.

Newborns In Need

Denver Health Foundation's Newborns in Need program comes to the rescue for expecting families who are struggling to make ends meet. Thanks to generous donors and volunteers, we collect thousands of new baby items to fill our “Warm Welcome” bags that are given to new moms and dads who really need and appreciate this extra help. 

In addition to the Warm Welcome Bags, Newborns in Need also provides car seats, strollers, cribs and many more items to families that are in serious need. Learn more about volunteering and donating to Newborns In Need. For information please email Sharon Mushkin at sharon.mushkin@dhha.org or call (303) 602-2985.

Reach Out and Read

With our Reach Out and Read program, gently used books are placed in waiting areas at clinics to create literacy-rich environments, given to siblings during Well Child Visits, and offered to patients during sick visits. It is our goal that every time a child enters our clinics that they leave with a book in their hands. Help us make this goal a reality. 

We are happy to accept new and gently used children’s books abiding by the following guidelines: 

• Be new or gently used (covers and pages intact, clean and unmarked pages)
• Books may be for the following age groups: infants up to and including young adults 
• No textbooks
• No used coloring or activity books 

Donations can be dropped off in Volunteer Services, The Zone Pavilion C, 1st Floor weekdays from 8 am - 4 pm.