Friday, April 19, 2019

American Legion Auxiliary partners with VA to help Veterans find their way around VA hospitals

Recruiting for Red Coat Ambassadors


Every April, the nation recognizes health care and other volunteers and the services they provide. Across VA, volunteers donate thousands of hours at various sites of care. To ensure a consistent and positive Veteran experience, the Red Coat Ambassador volunteer program is now at every VA medical center.
What exactly is a VA Red Coat Ambassador volunteer?
The VA is fortunate to have talented volunteers, many of whom are Veterans, family members of Veterans, or just someone interested in giving back to Veterans. They donate their time to greet and assist patients and hospital visitors. But more Red Coat Ambassador are always needed, and the American Legion Auxiliary is helping to connect more volunteers to these vital positions at VA.
The VA is proud to have this continued partnership with the ALA to support the VA’s Red Coat Ambassador and volunteer programs.
“The American Legion Auxiliary is excited to be collaborating with VA to support the Red Coat Ambassadors’ program with our volunteers because we know it is so important for Veterans to know where to go when they come into VA hospitals.”-Chrystal Daulton, program manager, American Legion Auxiliary National Headquarters
The American Legion Auxiliary is the world’s largest women’s patriotic service organization with over 700,000 members and presence in more than 8,600 communities which provide volunteers in support of Veteran and families initiatives. Efforts like the ALA’s are improving the overall VA patient experience.
VA measures customer experience through ease, effectiveness, and emotion. Since 2017 more than 2.5 million Veterans have sent VA feedback via Veterans Signals, VA’s Customer Experience Feedback Survey. In April 2019, 93.2% of Veterans responded that it was easy to find their appointment, up from 91.1% in April 2018. VA volunteers like the Red Coat Ambassadors make a huge impact.
Veterans who were surveyed recently said:
  • “In all my 64 years, I have never met a team more deserving of praise. From the volunteers at the door to greet you to the healthcare provider, the VA offers security good health treatment and advice. I’ve never dealt with a medical staff that shows so much concern for the veteran. Thank you VA.”
  • “My experiences at the CG VA have been nothing but good. Polite and cheerful greetings from staff. Appointments on time and very worthwhile.”
  • “The service there is so great and everyone always greets us with a smile and a Thank You For Your Service. The audio tech really knew what she was doing and was eager to help us. As always, a good experience. We like going there.”
If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a volunteer with VA, you can start by talking with your local VA medical center or your local American Legion Auxiliary.
For more information online visit: https://www.volunteer.va.gov/apps/VolunteerNow/ .

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