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Volunteer to Help

Patient Care Volunteers

At Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital, volunteers are a vital element of the care that the patient will receive, providing information, hospitality and support through a variety of programs. Volunteers need not have personal experience with cancer but more importantly a desire to help individuals who do. For more information about the following opportunities please contact YNHH Volunteer Services at (203) 688-2297.

  • Navigator volunteers help “navigate” the new patient and their family on their first appointment day. Greeting, providing information, answering questions and serving as a liaison between the patient and the physician team.
  • Patient Aide volunteers provide support to patients receiving treatment and their families. They assist the treatment center staff in providing hospitality, conversation, and a warm, caring environment.
  • Ambassadors assist individuals as they arrive and depart, providing directions and escorting patients and visitors as needed throughout the facility.
  • Reiki volunteers are certified Reiki practitioners who provide a gentle, hands-on energy healing technique to patients.