The organization I chose is the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, also known as CHKD. The CHKD provides volunteer opportunities for both adults and teenagers from ages 15 and those still in high school. The adult volunteers get to work with children of all ages by giving them emotional support or simply being there for them when they need it the most. However, other volunteer opportunities include Child Life Volunteering in which the volunteer helps to normalize the hospital setting and reduce stress through play. Another opportunity includes being a NICU Cuddler in which the volunteer offers positive, comforting human contact when parents can’t be present. These great volunteer opportunities for adults are very similar to the ones offered to the Junior Volunteers. The Junior Volunteers are given opportunities over the summer to help in various ways around the hospital such as Patient Interactions (in the playroom and at the bedside), staff support in different clinics and offices, the gift shop, and even surgical services. The Junior volunteers are even allowed to participate in the annual career fair including hospital employees from a selection of departments.
The mission of CHKD is to strive to be the leading provider of excellent pediatric health services in their community. They want to evolve and enhance their services in response to the needs of children and educate the next generation of leaders in children’s health.
CHKD provides a wide range of services and has various locations across Virginia. Some important services they provide include inpatient and outpatient care, surgery, radiology, rehabilitation, emergency medicine, pharmacy, and respiratory services.
The needs in the community that CHKD addresses include their dedication to education research as they are the home to Eastern Virginia Medical School’s Pediatric Residency Training Program. The hospital provides education programs from asthma management to discipline in childhood obesity. With their network of pediatric services, they can provide the best care possible for children in whatever they could need from serious emergencies to an annual check-up. CHKD also has a highly respected program for identifying abuse and neglect of children located a few blocks from the hospital to help victims through the steps towards healing.
This organization is important to the community since they provide all these services for children and are the leading health organization in the field of pediatrics. Without them, it would cost the lives of many who rely on their medical, and surgical groups, their health center, and even urgent care centers. A great place for volunteers to donate their time to put a smile on a child’s face will be lost and livelihood from which many workers obtain their income will also be lost.
With COVID-19 affecting volunteer opportunities and donations at CHKD, they have now incorporated a way in which donations can be done online. With this new way to give a gift virtually, it is still possible to provide a smile and joy to children staying at CHKD.
I think my values and opinions about the importance of health have grown and now I do not just think of myself and the patients I will one day have, but as the hospital as a whole. That with the hospital working together as a team we can get more done towards better care for our patients. I loved the mission that CHKD provided and I agree that everyone in a health-related career should strive to be the best provider there is for their community.
Thinking About the Community Partner:
These services relate to my intended career field since my goal is to one day be a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner and hopefully work in a hospital such as CHKD.
Other degree programs this could relate to including Pre-Med majors and even chemistry majors that help in towards a career in pharmaceuticals.
I think if I were to change my mind about Nursing, I would choose a Chemistry major to become a pharmacist.
I would choose this as my parallel major since I enjoy chemistry and a career in pharmaceuticals has also been catching my eye as a backup for Nursing.
“Kindness is helping the world, one person at a time.”
-RAKtivist