Volunteer turn teams?

Just curious, do they exist? One of my biggest pet peeves if not done and something that I really tried to stay on top of was turning patients. I have days where I think if I did volunteering in a hospital, I would just volunteer to be the second person (the other person being the tech/nursing assistant) to go and turn patients that needed it. I don't know if that is allowed or not (volunteer wise, I mean).

All these people who want to shadow nurses and volunteer in a hospital, could they do this? Is it considered something only within a scope of practice?

It's just a peeve of mine. I like my patients turned. Definitely decreases pressure ulcers.
Whatever happened to candy stripers? Didn't they used to do stuff like this? I know they would bring a smile to many of my old guys' faces where I work.

Candy stripers still exist. But, they do not turn them where I am. They bring ice around.

Didn't candy stripers used to do sponge baths and stuff like that? Or am I misremembering?

Health and safety and work place injuries mean that this cannot happen. On my ward I have loads of volunteers some who are med students PT students. they are very keen to help but there is no way on gods green earth that I am letting them turn people. What if the patient starts to resist in the middle of the turn and the volunteer hurts their back? Who is going to pay for that injury? What if they are exposed to blood or bodily fluids and contract an illness? My volunteers can set people up for their meals, cut up food make their cup of tea but CANNOT feed the pt. What if they aspirate? They can take specimens to the lab but they cannot take blood to the ward from blood bank. They can make beds if there is no pt in it but never an occupied bed.

Yeah, people are way too litigious these days to allow volunteers to do any hands on care. It's too bad...

I believe if there's hands-on care, it must be provided by someone in the employ of the facility. Has to do with licensing, certications, training, supervision, hiring screens, etc. In other words, an employee... And as Brandon points out, the liability issues.Candy strippers have all but given way to general hosp volunteers who do mail, flowers, bookmobile, etc. Even they must pass a 'hiring' screen for background checks, PPDs, etc. Reminds me of the 'greeters' at WallyWorld - but I heard they're being phased out. Does anyone remember the 'hospitality cart' ? Usually a Ladies' Auxilliary member used to push it around the units for the pts who couldn't get to the Gift Shop? Do they still have them? Am I aging myself?

When I volunteered, we were not allowed to move patients or help them into their vehicles (however if you see them about to fall, no one in their right mind would just let them fall and injure themselves). Volunteers can do a lot of the delivering (specimen to lab, flowers, etc), and some patient contact in the form of wheeling people around. There are even some volunteers who get to work in the NICU to give the little babies the human touch that they need. However, if anyone were to try to move a patient, we'd be booted off the floor in a second. To be able to help a patient would require training and the like. So if volunteers are asked by a patient for help, they just simply call for a nurse.

Quote from BrandonLPNDidn't candy stripers used to do sponge baths and stuff like that? Or am I misremembering?

Quote from BrandonLPNYeah, people are way too litigious these days to allow volunteers to do any hands on care. It's too bad...

Quote from BrandonLPNDidn't candy stripers used to do sponge baths and stuff like that? Or am I misremembering?

I understand. I guess, honestly, I didn't think about the getting injuried on the job part. I just always like my patients turned and I would try and help others turning them. Some people don't care and it's sad for the patient.

OP, maybe this will help your situation: I think sometimes people make too big a deal out of turning. Like it means turn on all the lights (ok, I worked a lot of nights), fling off all the covers, and flip the person from all the way on their right side to all the way on their left, awakening them fully to where they cannot fall asleep again, or even making them anxious. I got to be the master of the "quarter turn." -- adjusting the pillow behind so that instead of being turned like 90 degrees on their side, they would then be turned 70 degrees. This was validated by our WOCN too- the point is, you want to change the pressure points, not flip the person like a pancake. This WOCN believed in the full flip every fourth turn, really, as long as you were reasonably changing the pressure points, and you really should be changing these much more than q2 anyway.