The volunteen program at Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital is a program that allows students between the ages of 14 to 18 to volunteer at the hospital. Volunteers can choose between many different volunteer positions to work at the hospital. According to Oconomowoc Hospital website students can be involved with, “admitting and discharge, adult day care, auxiliary fundraising and special events, intensive care unit, kindergarten tour guides, patient and family-centered care resource center, reception desk, surgery waiting room and The Gift Box.”

Volunteers are required to volunteer at least 100 hours a year. Most students volunteer two hours a week at their trained position. The volunteen program at Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital brings in many students from all around the county for many different reasons. Some students volunteer for hours for National Honors Society, to boost their college applications, or to get some experience in the medical field.

Mary Shanabarger, a junior at Arrowhead says, “I wanted to get experience in the medical field by having consistent volunteer hours and I thought it would be fun…it has kept my interest in the medical field and it looks good to get into a biological program in college.”

Kiley Beth, a Junior at Arrowhead, who works admitting every Tuesday says she decided to volunteer at the hospital because, “My health careers teacher told me about it. So I thought it good thing to do.”

Volunteen gives students who are looking to be in the medical field good insight to what goes on in a hospital. Oconomowoc hospital allows volunteers to interact with patients and to get to know their way around a hospital by volunteering.

Shanabarger, who works every Saturday morning in Admitting, says she choose the time and position she did because “It’s one of the only free times I have so it is one of the only times I can volunteer. The only bad part about it is that it is not too busy on Saturday mornings so you don’t get as good as a feel of what a hospital is usually like.”

Beth who works on Tuesdays, has a different experience then Mary has on Saturday mornings. Beth says, “ When you are busy and getting phone calls and talking to patients and helping them around the hospital. It helps you to get to know your way around the hospital.”

Everyday is different when volunteering at the hospital. A volunteen never quite knows what kind of patient or task they are going to have to do. Shanabarger says, “a few weeks ago there was a man who came in freaking out and yelling that his wife is having a baby and said  to get a wheelchair. Which is kind of bizarre because you would think you would go to an emergency room. And his wife was totally calm and didn’t seemed phased by the situation at all. I was really surprised that he was flipping out about it so much.”

Beth, also had a different experience as well. Beth says, “I had a patient who had cancer and I had to take her from Radiology to the Cancer Center. She felt really sick and was about to throw up and I felt really bad for her.”

If you would like to volunteer at Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital there are registration forms available in april for the summer Volunteen session. After signing up,  according to Oconomowoc Hospital’s website , “we host a mandatory parent/child informational meeting, as well as a one-day mandatory training session in June (after school is out for summer).” Visit the guidance counselors office to sign up and help others by volunteering!