Arranging to Volunteer at the Clinic

Read the entire page carefully before contacting the clinic.
• Email the Volunteer Coordination Team at healthalgiers@yahoo.com.
• In the subject of your email please include the following: Name, Profession, and dates available (i.e. Subject: S. Martin, MD 10/3-10/24).
• If you do not receive a response to your email in a few days, email again, then call (504) 717-6561.
• Please do not show up without being confirmed. We may not have room to accept people who have not registered and been confirmed.
• Once confirmed: Please complete the following forms and fax to the appropriate agencies

•Physicians: Please complete the following form and fax to the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners at (504) 568-0503 and the Department of Health and Hospitals at (504) 219-4410.
•Nurse Practitioners and Registered Nurses: Please complete the following form and fax to the Louisiana State Board of Nursing at (225) 763-5500 and the Department of Health and Hospitals at (504) 219-4410.
•MDs, NPs and RNs will not need to present themselves at the professional board or the DHH unless there are questions about your application.

We appreciate your desire to help in New Orleans and work with the Common Ground Health Clinic. Unfortunately, we can no longer accept the influx of out-of-state volunteers that we have been since September 2005. Because of the logistical and time-consuming difficulties of orienting and housing out-of-town volunteers, and due to our crowded situation, we are only accepting medical volunteers from out of state.

Though the clinic has a heavy patient load, it is a small clinic space-wise, and can easily become overwhelmed with too many volunteers and staff. This is but one of the balancing acts that directs our staffing needs.

Staffing Needs

The clinic still depends on non-local professionals for certain positions—Physicians, Registered Nurses, Nurse Practitioners and 4th year medical students. However, orienting and training even the most experienced professionals to our clinic and to the always-changing local resources and referral options consumes time and resources. Therefore, we must place minimum length of stay requirements on those positions to make maximum benefit of that training.

Open Positions and Minimum Stays
MDs/NPs (Internal Med or Family Practice focus) 1 week
4th-year Med Students 1 month
RNs 2 weeks
We can NO LONGER accept non-local 1st-, 2nd-, or 3rd-year Med Students, Chiropractors , PAs, LVNs LCSWs, Massage Therapists, Acupuncturists

Family Members
We are unable to continue the practice of allowing people to bring family members or friends to work in the clinic unless they fall into one of the above needed categories. Non-local minors and friends cannot be in the clinic. Our clinic is just too small, it interferes with quality patient care, and distracts from our efforts to encourage local volunteers.

If you do not meet our categories for volunteers, please check with Common Ground Relief for volunteer opportunities with them.