Ivy Nelson's Letter

April 10, 1997

Ron Wyden
United States Senator
United States Senate
500 N.W. Multnomah Street
Suite 320
Portland, OR 97232

Dear Senator Wyden:

I am writing in response to your letter to Dr. Peter Kohler dated March 13, 1997. Your letter was regarding the volunteer security screening issues raised by the Doernbecher Children's Hospital volunteer, Lou Bank.

My associate, Thonna Vela, volunteer coordinator of the Doernbecher volunteer program and myself are sincere advocates of volunteerism and community involvement at our hospitals and clinics and make every attempt to continually strive for excellence in the volunteer program at OHSU. We also attempt to accept only those volunteers who demonstrate they have the best of intentions in their hearts and minds for coming to the hospitals and clinics to give of their time and efforts. As a result we follow strict protocol when screening and accepting volunteers into our programs.

The following is a list of what occurs before any volunteer is placed.

· Interested persons call to have an information packet sent to them.

· If interested and they meet initial criteria they are asked to call to schedule a personal interview.

· An interview takes between 30-60 minutes and it is during this time questions such as these are asked:

- Why do you want to volunteer?

- Is this a requirement for school?

- What is your past volunteer experience?

- Why did you pick OHSU?

- Are you willing to commit to six months and attend training meetings as required?

- What areas of interest do you have? This helps us determine their skill level and suitable volunteer placement.

· Volunteers are also required to interview with Department where they will be working.

· All volunteers must pass a tuberculin skin test.

· A Criminal Background Check is conducted on all volunteers before placement.

· This check is administered through our Public Safety Department.

· All volunteers sign the Volunteer Agreement form.

· All volunteers agree to and sign a patient Confidentiality Statement.

· All volunteers must agree to attend and complete any required training and orientation. This may include periodic volunteer in services.

· Documentation on all of the above is kept in each volunteers' personal file.

Lou Bank and his wife, who also began volunteering at about the same time, went through the above process. They completed all the steps in a timely manner and without incident. They were excited about beginning their volunteer assignments. It is for this reason that Thonna Vela and I are very surprised by his assertions and critical comments.

There are several inaccuracies in his commentary to the paper and we have documentation to dispute his accusations. These include: his comment stating, "I've been doing this for a few months now, without the hospital ever attempting to train me for the work." After his initial orientation with Thonna, he had a thorough patient nursing unit orientation with a Child Life Therapist who covered training issues such as: infection control; patient confidentiality; disaster procedures; handling children; patient equipment; playroom activities; visiting children while parents are present; understanding a sick child's behavior; and additional items as appropriate for the specific unit. The training check off list is in his file signed by him and the Child Life Therapist on November 5, 1996.

Mr. Bank goes on to state "there should be laws that require these facilities to do thorough background checks. . ." I don't understand why he stated this when he signed a form called "Criminal Activity Disclosure" that was sent to our Public Safety department on October 21, 1996 and a background check was conducted by our Public Safety department and he was cleared for assignment on October 22, 1996.

He also stated that Thonna "never phoned my place of business, to ensure that I actually did work there. . ." Thonna did return a call to him at his place of employment to follow up on his completion of the tuberculin skin test. The call was routed through an extension and a conversation was held with him. This call was recorded on a phone log in our office.

When he states that "the hospital also gave me an official identification badge, again without confirming my identity against any other document." Our Public Safety Department will not issue anyone an ID without a form signed by the department indication the area they will be working. Mr. Bank was issued this form by Thonna Vela only after completing all of the above required criteria, including the criminal check.

In summary, we are committed to doing a thorough job of screening and placing all of our volunteers. We do not accept everyone who comes in our door and we certainly do not place any person who does not meet the stated requirements. As with any system, however, we recognize that there is always room for improvement and we remain open to suggestions which could lead to such improvements. We only wish that Mr. Bank had given us the consideration and respect to discuss his concerns with us directly. We certainly would have been able to explain our procedures with him and listened to his suggestions and ideas. We learn much from our volunteers and encourage feedback and comments.

Please, if you have any further questions, do not hesitate to give me a call.

Sincerely,

Ivy M. Nelson, Director
Volunteer Services

cc: Lou Bank
Peter Kohler
Ron Vinyard
Thonna Vela