Each summer, teenagers from across eastern North Carolina dedicate a portion of their summer to serve their community at ECU Health hospitals across the region.

The VolunTeen Program is designed to teach students ages 15-17 the value of community service and to provide experiences that foster growth and maturity. The program runs from June to August and volunteers serve at least one shift per week at the hospital.

At ECU Health Medical Center, 122 teens completed 4,717 hours of service across 39 departments this summer. Sara Tingen, volunteer services coordinator at ECU Health Medical Center, said this year was very successful and they hosted their largest group of VolunTeens since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the volunteers serve in many roles across the hospital, Tingen said patient transporting from one area of the hospital to another is one of the most important tasks.

“The (ECU Health) Cancer Center alone can see 400 people in one day,” Tingen said. “That’s a lot of time it would take for a nurse or other team members to transport a patient, they rely heavily on our transport volunteers. They can just pick up the phone, say, ‘Hey, I need this person to go here to there.’ And it’s done, they can move on to caring for their next patient. We’re proud to be a smiling face and someone patients can connect with while we help them get around.”

Emily Anthony recently finished her third summer in the VolunTeen Program, where she spent her time escorting patients, assisting the Volunteer Services team on projects and serving as a leader for other VolunTeens.

She said her favorite part of the VolunTeen Program is talking to patients and team members while also making connections with her fellow VolunTeens. Emily is entering her senior year of high school and wants to pursue health care.

“It’s really great to get experience in health care, because I want to do something in health care, maybe a nurse,” she said. “The first summer, I just thought it would be a good experience to do the VolunTeen Program but I just loved working in the hospital. I worked in a unit the first summer with all the nurses and I just loved it.”

Christopher Latimer is entering his sophomore year of high school and said he had a great experience in his first year as a VolunTeen. He’s already decided he’ll join again next summer.

He said he’s had an interest in nursing and getting first-hand experience working alongside nurses has helped him understand the day-to-day work of a nurse in a hospital setting.

“I was on 2 South most of the time and I worked in the Cancer Center as well,” Christopher said. “They were both good experiences. I was going around, asking patients questions and seeing if I could help them in any way. I helped the care partners, seeing if I could help out the nurses with anything, really. I’m thinking about nursing and I’m going to also try and do different areas the next time I VolunTeen to see more and just kind of see my options in health care.”

Chad Tucker, director of Volunteer Services at ECU Health Medical Center, said Christopher’s experience is exactly what the program hopes to give back to the local students who are spending their time serving their community.

“This program is an investment in our future,” Tucker said. “A lot of these students are going into college and they get a chance to see the hospital first hand. It’s so rewarding when you see former VolunTeens who are in medical school, or they’re nurses here, they’re respiratory therapists, they are in various capacities and they attribute part of their foundation to the VolunTeen Program. These young people are able to help team members and the patients we serve, but it also gives them help in their careers.”

The program also offers Leadership Sessions for VolunTeens, which gives them a chance to see unique areas of the health system and opportunities for skill development. In one session, the group visited the EastCare helipad, learned about the team, got to look around the inside of a helicopter and even saw a landing.

In another session, the Human Resources and Workforce Development team worked on resume building and shared interview tips with the VolunTeens.

“We have quite a few seniors who are coming up on college applications so if they’re interviewing for jobs or interviewing for scholarships, it just gives them a good perspective on how to navigate possibly their first interview as a young adult,” Tingen said.

We’re proud to support the VolunTeen Program at ECU Health Medical Center and select ECU Health Community Hospitals and we’re grateful for the teen who step up each summer to help us serve eastern North Carolina.

To learn more about the VolunTeen Program and other volunteer opportunities at ECU Health, visit ECUHealth.org/Volunteers.