AHVRP Highlights

• 2012 AHVRP Annual Conference
  Omni Dallas Hotel
  Dallas, TX
  Dates: Sept. 19 - 22, 2012

COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAM
Sexual Assault Response Service
Antelope Valley Hospital, Lancaster, CA

The Sexual Assault Response Service is the only program of its kind in a 3,200 square mile area. A highly trained, dedicated team of volunteers provides free services 24 hours a day, seven days a week to sexual assault survivors and their families. The volunteers help free up hospital staff for other duties by offering specialized assistance to victims, families, hospital personnel and law enforcement agencies. The service promotes improved community health by coordinating the work of several agencies.

To meet the program's high standards, volunteers get more than 60 hours of training. They participate in a six-month probationary period before they are accepted as victim advocates. Responding to a call from any of the area hospital emergency departments, volunteers provide support to victims while helping solicit histories, preparing evidence collection kits, assisting with medical and legal examinations, and overseeing the completion of state forms. Volunteers work with the district attorney's office throughout the court process. In addition, they offer one-on-one counseling, a referral service, a lending library and community education.

Runner-up: Partners-In-Healing - Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington, NJ - a program providing emotional comfort and support to cancer patients and their families.

IN-SERVICE HOSPITAL VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
Spectrum Health Universal Infant Hearing Screening
Spectrum Health - Downtown Campus, Grand Rapids, MI

The Universal Infant Hearing Screen program identifies potential hearing loss in all babies born at or transferred to the Spectrum Health - Downtown Campus. The hospital is one of the few in the country that trains volunteers to perform the necessary tests for babies. Most hospitals only provide hearing screening to high-risk infants in the neonatal intensive care and neonatal intermediate care units. Volunteers make the difference at Spectrum. Early identification and intervention can prevent a hearing problem from being a handicap.

To prepare, volunteers complete an extensive training program. After volunteers administer the screening, audiologists review the test results to identify infants with potential problems. Those with abnormal results are referred for re-screening or diagnostic testing. Without the service of volunteers, it would be impossible to provide this service to the thousands of babies at Spectrum Health every year.

Runner Up: Pets Offering Ongoing Care and Health (POOCH), Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA - volunteers offer the affection of pets to provide comfort and companionship to hospitalized patients.

FUND-RAISING PROGRAM
Martha's Market
Martha Jefferson Hospital, Charlottesville, VA

Martha's Market is a weekend event that transforms an indoor tennis facility into a beautifully decorated shopping plaza featuring 40 "unique boutique" vendors. The event began as a fund-raiser initiated by a group of enthusiastic volunteers who wanted to raise awareness of breast cancer. A year of planning by 115 volunteers pays off handsomely.

Income is derived from corporate sponsorships, individual donations and a percentage of the vendors' profits. From its net profit of $40,000 in 1992, the market's net profit grew to $150,000 in 1998. Proceeds are used to: 1) staff the CARE Center, where breast cancer patients and families can get information and support from oncology nurses; 2) support the hospital's breast cancer outreach program with emphasis on early detection and treatment; 3) provide free or reduced-fee mammograms and health screenings to low-income women; and 4) sponsor semiannual "free mammography days" to all women

Runner Up: Palm-Aire Golf Classic - North Broward Medical Center, Pompano Beach, FL - Funds raised from this golf tournament help forgotten caregivers of Alzheimer's patients.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND/OR COLLABORATION PROGRAM
Parent Help Line
St. John's Hospital, Springfield, IL

The Parent Help Line is a cooperative project created by the Parent Help Coalition, a group of 37 agencies and organizations involved in parenting programs. The Parent Help Line provides parents and agencies with easily accessible, low-cost parenting information and support to help strengthen families and prevent child abuse. This program was started by the Sangamon County Medical Society & Alliance with support from the Junior League in 1996, and was expanded statewide last year.

Trained volunteers give parenting tips, support and referrals to about 100 callers a month. In addition, volunteers visit parents of newborns and offer information about infant growth and development and about the Parent Help Line services. A volunteer nurse makes a follow-up call to each family one month after discharge. Volunteers taking part in an intervention program regularly call parents identified as high risk. Parenting classes, program and support groups are made available to parents, and a television show on parenting issues airs weekly on a local public access channel. A monthly newsletter is mailed to more than 1,500 individuals and agencies in central Illinois.

Runner Up: Warriors Against Prostate Cancer — Christiana Care, Wilmington Hospital, Wilmington, DE - Male volunteers meet monthly to help the hospital identify barriers to screening for prostate cancer in the African-American community.

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