Council on Volunteer Services Georgia Health Care

The Council on Volunteer Services/Georgia HealthCare (COVS/GHC) is an independent membership organization made up of individuals who volunteer at Georgia hospitals, including hospitals that are members of the Georgia Hospital Association, that seeks to help volunteers initiate new services designed to improve the care given to patients in Georgia hospitals and to help Council members better prepare themselves for leadership positions in volunteer services. To further the work of the Council, Georgia Hospital Association shall continue to serve as a sponsor of COVS/GHC.

The Council on Volunteer Services/Georgia HealthCare, Inc., was founded in 1958 as the Council on Auxiliaries/Volunteers (COA/V). Currently, membership consists of 33 hospitals’ Volunteer Services throughout the state of Georgia. The years 2019-2022 were a continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, and even though many of our member hospitals still had Volunteers on furlough, the hospitals that had welcomed Volunteers back to service were able to see Volunteers providing many hours of their time and talents helping in non-patient contact areas. Volunteers were able to contribute much needed financial gifts to our hospitals. During the year of 2022-2023, more and more Volunteers were returning or joining the ranks of our services in Georgia hospitals. Approximately 2150 Volunteers logged in over 423,130 hours in their participating hospitals and contributed funds totaling approximately  $1, 427,266. In addition, Volunteers gave over $495,950 to support projects in their communities. We have had 20 teen programs that were active in their hospitals or doing off-site projects that would benefit patients that were in the hospital or the Senior Care Centers attached to specific campuses. Thirty-three (33) Volunteer Service groups work in Gift Shops in their hospitals, and 27 have scholarship programs in addition to those available through COVS/GHC.

The Council is divided into 4 districts: Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest. Two District Directors are elected to represent each district. The COVS/GHC governing body is made up of a Board of Management (BOM) that directs the actions and programs of the Council. The President also selects members of the BOM to serve on committees that carry out the goals and programs of the Council. The Council offers the training needed to ensure each Volunteer has practical help to its health care facility in performing essential services. Volunteers can be of tremendous help with community relations programs, community outreach programs, in providing valuable volunteer services to patients, and in donating financial resources to improve patient care. One of the greatest values of Council membership is the exchange of ideas and experiences that can help Volunteers initiate new services designed to improve the care given to patients in our hospitals and to help individuals better prepare themselves for leadership positions in their volunteer services. It is the aim of Council to establish new Volunteer Services at the request of health care facilities and to assist in the dissemination of information concerning projects and services which will further the efficient functioning of health care volunteers in the Georgia Hospital Association and the American Hospital Association.