Three years after Nova Scotia Health welcomed volunteers back to all of its hospitals, the number of people willing to give up their time in exchange for supporting patients remains well below where it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The health authority’s efforts to recruit more volunteers come after a decline in volunteering at hospitals across Canada. According to Statistics Canada, hospital volunteering hours fell 47 per cent between 2018 and 2023, a drop attributed in part to the pandemic, inflation and labour shortages.
Lauren Murphy, director of recruitment and volunteer services at Nova Scotia Health, said “it’s not super surprising” that the volunteer program hasn’t recovered after being largely suspended for two years at the height of the pandemic. The program is at about 58 per cent of its pre-pandemic numbers, she said.
“A lot of people who, you know, had volunteer programs within their units or their specialty areas, they had to pivot,” she said. “They had to make some changes. And so right now we’re kind of in that rebuilding stage.”
Easily spotted by their red vests, volunteers with Nova Scotia Health interact with patients and visitors, direct people where to go when they visit the hospital and answer questions.
‘It’s really rewarding’
At smaller facilities like the Aberdeen Hospital in New Glasgow, N.S., they contribute to a sense community in which patients recognize and have close relationships with the volunteers.
“Anybody that does it would [find] it’s really rewarding,” said Jane Marshall, who’s been volunteering at the Aberdeen since 2006.
Marshall was one of the few volunteers who remained during the pandemic. She said it has been difficult convincing former volunteers — many who had worked there for years — to return.
“Once you stop it, I find it very difficult to come back,” she said. “You kind of get used to being away from it and it’s hard to get folks back.”
While growing the pool of volunteers has required working from the ground up, Murphy said there have been encouraging signs the program can rebound.
Last year, Nova Scotia Health held its first annual provincewide career fair, which was attended by thousands, with many registering for the volunteer service. This year, more than 5,000 people attended the career fair.
“The lineup for the volunteer services booths in all of our locations across the province was usually one of the longest,” Murphy said. “So there is definitely a renewed interest.”
Murphy said volunteers are recognized as a vital part of not only the functioning of the hospital, but the overall patient experience.
“Our volunteers are so critical to the health of our organization,” Murphy said. “And you know, if you’ve ever been to a hospital, usually the first smile that you see is a volunteer.”
