1775 Thompson Rd, Coos Bay, Oregon 97420
(541) 269-8111
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If you’re looking for a meaningful way to serve others and make new friends, the Bay Area Hospital Auxiliary might be just what you’re seeking! Our volunteers are often the first faces you see when you walk through our doors. These remarkable individuals choose to give their time, talents, and energy to help others.
Beyond the Auxiliary, Bay Area Hospital provides a Student Volunteer program for those exploring a future in healthcare. Additionally, we’ve partnered with volunteer artists, musicians, local clergy, and organizations like Furry Friends to enhance the experience for our patients.
If you share our mission and want to get involved, we’d love to hear from you. With so many creative ways to volunteer, we’re excited to develop a program that suits your interests and skills.
Even before there was a Bay Area Hospital, there was a Bay Area Hospital Auxiliary. The group was organized in 1972 to provide volunteer workers for the future hospital. Over the years, Auxiliary members have provided more than one million service hours and donated more than $1 million to the hospital.
Auxiliary volunteers are valued members of our team and play a vital role in our mission of improving the health of our community every day. They provide additional services to patients, families, visitors, and staff and brighten our hallways with their friendly smiles. Throughout the hospital, you will see our Auxiliary volunteers, identifiable by their bright blue jackets, greeting and assisting visitors, running the gift shop fundraiser, escorting patients to medical appointments, delivering flowers, providing wheelchair assistance, and much more. Whatever the task, our Auxiliary volunteers are here to make a difference.
By dedicating a few hours of your time, you can transform the lives of many. Volunteering is not just about giving back, it’s an opportunity to actively engage with your community, develop new skills, and explore potential career paths. Our Volunteer Services programs offer a variety of ways for community members and students to contribute their time and talent. Our Volunteer Services team takes pride in matching your skills and interests to a specific assignment, ensuring a fulfilling and rewarding experience for you.
The Bay Area Hospital Auxiliary has been a pillar of support for the hospital and our community for over 50 years. Our volunteers serve in various roles across the hospital, from information desks to the surgery waiting room, Joint Replacement Destination Center, diabetes classes, and the gift shop. Since 2021, our Auxiliary volunteers have contributed over 1 million service hours and donated more than $1 million to the hospital, a testament to their unwavering dedication and commitment.
If you are willing to give four hours a week and are interested in applying to be a Bay Area Hospital Auxiliary Member, fill out this application. Our auxiliary team will contact you for an interview. We will do a background check and a health screening, and then we will teach you how to support our community as a Bay Area Hospital Auxiliary Member.
Student Volunteers get to sample the pace, the teamwork, and the constant learning of the healthcare environment before they dedicate years of school to a degree. We welcome students during their junior and senior years of high school. College Students hoping to get an additional point on their nursing application can also volunteer with us. We group our Student Volunteers into cohorts: Fall/winter, Spring, and Summer. This process allows a student to commit to a dedicated short period of time. Student schedules change throughout the year and students can continue with us, moving around to different locations by continuing our program.
To become a Student Volunteer at Bay Area Hospital, one must be a resident of Coos County, Oregon. The commitment is 2 hours a week for a 12-week term. Once you complete and submit an application, Volunteer Services will contact you for a tour and interview. This step will introduce you to our facility and mission and help you understand what a student volunteer opportunity at Bay Area Hospital will look like.
Shadowing is another way students can learn about healthcare careers. We help High School Seniors fulfill their 5-hour shadowing requirement for graduation, called a CRLE, through Volunteer Services. To complete a CRLE fill out the Student Volunteer Application making sure to complete the CRLE section of the application. Shadowing Students come to the hospital one time for a maximum of 5 hours, you will not touch patients or equipment, you will only be observing. Request your unit and the individual you are requesting to follow if you already have someone in mind.
Clinical Learning Opportunities run through our education department. If you are in a college or an advanced degree program, please contact our education department for assistance in setting up clinical learning sandra.maddux@bayareahospital.org.
We are in the midst of adding this additional track to our catalog of student offerings. More information about Recruit HIPPO’s local program can be found here. We are excited to align with Recruit HIPPO mission to bring opportunities to our local workforce.
The volunteer musician program is for musicians who want to use their musical talent to contribute to a therapeutic, comforting environment at Bay Area Hospital. Volunteers can play our grand piano in the hospital lobby. With some additional training, volunteers can bring their instruments to a patient floor to bring comfort. We welcome a variety of instruments. The mission is to provide soothing music that contributes to a healing environment.
Our volunteer musicians can typically set their schedule. If you have 30-45 minutes a month to give, we encourage you to join us.
The Volunteer Chaplains of Bay Area Hospital Volunteer Chaplains have been serving Bay Area Hospital since the 1980s. The Volunteer Chaplains of Bay Area Hospital greatly enrich the experience of our patients and our staff. We have a team of five local ministers that take a weekend each month. Their service allows us to have round-the-clock coverage for those at the end of life. Area clergy interested in volunteering their time to this team can apply.
This team’s work is supplemented by additional volunteers who offer to be on call as representatives for the religious needs of their specific groups. We are always glad to expand our resource list. If you are a spiritual leader within your faith group and would be willing to dedicate your time to our patients, contact volunteer@bayareahospital.org to offer your services.
We have created avenues for Eucharistic Ministers to serve, for ceremonial rituals to be incorporated at the end of life, and for other accommodations for our patients. We appreciate that our community is diverse and welcome your wisdom.
How to support our community better
We want to learn how to support our community better. If you would like to be a part of helping us create a healing environment on our campus for your specific community, please reach out to volunteer@bayareahospital.org.
Nonprofit organizations looking to collaborate with Bay Area Hospital are a welcome partner here! We value the work our local volunteers are already doing, and we love to welcome you in our facility. Reach out to us at volunteer@bayareahospital.org and we can create a program together.
South Coast Educational Special District: Young Adult learners from our community come to our facility weekly to contribute to our team.
Furry Friends: has a long-standing partnership with Bay Area Hospital.
