Penn State Health will begin welcoming back volunteers in June to provide support in low-risk positions.
Infection Prevention and Infectious Diseases teams within each Penn State Health entity have evaluated the low-risk positions, which allow volunteers to continue safe practices such as social distancing and minimize their exposure to others to less than 15 minutes. Health system leadership approved the recommendations.
Penn State Health will provide all returning volunteers with training about pandemic best practices and require refresher courses in infection prevention and confidentiality.
During September 2020, a small group of volunteers returned to help behind-the-scenes, providing support in offices and assembling COVID-19 testing kits for the Virology lab. Others were able to support the system virtually or remotely during the COVID-19 surges.
System leaders look forward to bringing more volunteers back in the future, depending upon vaccination and COVID-19 infection rates in the region and state.
For more information about returning volunteer roles, reach out to the volunteer leadership at the appropriate Penn State Health facility.