NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division

Overview

Volunteer Opportunities are available at New York-Presbyterian Westchester Division, which is a Psychiatry facility. Our facility provides a range of diagnosis and treatment services for patients suffering from behavioral, emotional and other psychiatric ailments.

General requirements:

Volunteers must be 18 years of age
Must commit to completing 120 hours of service
Must maintain a minimum of 4-6 hours per week

Clinical Inpatient Volunteering:

Clinical experiences are very beneficial to students/volunteers interested in a career or further study in the mental health field as well as nursing, medicine and social work. Placements are available in the following disciplines.

Adolescent
Children
Geriatrics
Substance Abuse
Schizophrenia
Borderline Personality Disorders
Women's Issues
Mood Disorders
Eating Disorders

Students/volunteers will be supervised on one of our 11 inpatient units by the nursing staff. Duties may include assisting the staff with the daily activities on the unit, which include, but are not limited to: Room checks; sitting in on small group activities; interacting with the patient populations in one-to-one and group settings; participating in therapeutic interventions such as board games, conversation, art projects, etc; attend morning meetings with the clinical team, MD, RN, Social Workers; and attend case conferences as indicated

Other Clinical areas include:

Evaluation Center: assist staff and patients in the hospital admitting process
Pet Therapy: In order to participate in the Pet Therapy program your dog must be trained and certified. Please contact George Berger (914) 263-5397 for more information before you apply for this position.
Pastoral Care: assist coordinator in meeting spiritual needs of patient, lead groups. Clinical Pastoral Education units (training) are preferred for this placement. Please call Reverend Lynn Mikulak (914) 997-8604 for more information before you apply for this position.
The Comfort Zone: offers a variety of work adjustment/vocational training opportunities to help patients reintegrate into the work force. This program is a valuable treatment intervention and enhances community re-entry. This is a fantastic opportunity for an art therapist, occupational or recreational therapist.

Non-Clinical Volunteering:

Office Assistants: a wide range of various tasks, including, but not limited to: clerical work, filing, photocopying, phone, mailings, collating. Must be proficient in the latest software (i.e. Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel) Positions are in a wide range of offices, including Nursing, Social Work, Geriatrics, Alcohol Addiction Recovery Outpatient and Medical Records.
Storeroom: assist in shipping and receiving, stocking shelves, delivery of packages to various locations throughout hospital.
Cafeteria: set up, clean up of cafeteria area, basic food preparation.
Patient Education Department: assist with preparation of fact sheets, education materials, stocking EC, OPD, Marketing with materials for public display.
Medical Library: assist librarian by re-shelving books, general clerical work.
ECG/X-ray: assist technician with basic office procedures, filing, phones.
Pharmacy: assist technicians with basic pharmacy operations.
Gift Shop: cash register, sales assistance, stock shelves, interface with public.
Building Services: assist the crew with physical labor, set up/tear down etc.

The NYP Guide Program is a program designed to reduce confusion that visitors have when navigating in the hospital. Volunteers help by navigating and at times walking with patients or visitors to the area of the hospital that they wish to visit. If you want to put a smile on someone's face, then this is the program for you! Training provided. Position does require that volunteer be able to stand for a period of time greeting patients and guests.

Available 7 days a week 8am-8pm.

Summer Volunteering:

Summer Pre-Career Practicum: In order to be considered for the Practicum, you MUST be able to commit to the complete seven-week program, (approx 30 hours per week) between the second week of June through the last week of July and you must have secure housing and transportation as they are not provided.

This program is open to college undergraduates and recent graduate students interested in careers in psychology, nursing, psychosocial rehabilitation, social work, psychiatry, medicine, and hospital administration. This is a selective program that is limited to 40 students. Eligibility is determined by demonstrated academic ability and a required personal or telephone interview. Working directly with our patient population is also helpful in applying to graduate school.

The practicum allows students the opportunity to volunteer on one of our 11 patient units under the supervision of the nursing staff. Students will assist the staff with the daily activities on the unit which include but are not limited to room checks, escort, sitting in on small group activities and/or groups, interacting with the patient population on a one to one and in small group settings and attending case conferences. Some of our populations include geriatrics, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorders, crisis stabilization, women's issues, child & adolescents, eating disorders and substance abuse.

To apply to the Summer Pre-Career Practicum please request an e-packet/application to: lat9002@nyp.org. Applications are available starting February 1 and the deadline to return all application is during the last week of April.

Masters Degree in Mental Health Counseling:

If you are interested in applying for a Masters Degree in Mental Health Counseling Clinical Internship, please contact Lisa DeFelice-Fratto, EdM, LMHC, Senior Rehab Specialist at lid9007@nyp.org

For more information or questions about volunteering please contact:
Laurel A. Torres
Volunteer Coordinator
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
lat9002@nyp.org

Please Note: The minimum age for volunteering is 18. For all volunteer positions there are NO financial stipends provided. A physical exam and lab work is required as well as background screening. Our hospital medical clinic will do the exam and lab work at no cost to the volunteer Volunteers working in the Child or Adolescent division must complete the NY State Child Registry Form. For out-of-state applicants, there are no accommodations for housing or transportation. Students will have to secure their own arrangements.