Do you find Medicare interesting?
Would you enjoy being a popular resource on all things Medicare for your friends, family and the community?
Then this opportunity is for you! Volunteers with the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) will learn how to break up the complicated issue of Medicare into bite size pieces for others and provide assistance to them in choosing the Medicare plans and assistance options (if applicable) that are right for them. You will learn to provide unbiased and accurate information to anyone you assist.
SHIP Volunteers will be able to give clients peace of mind and can witness first-hand the impact they are making in the beneficiary's life with the information they provide.
Volunteers who'd like to attend events to share Medicare information and do plan comparisons or administrative work for the program but NO direct client counseling there is the option to attend just up to the second-class session.
Any volunteer who would like to be a full counselor will need to attend the full curriculum (all three class sessions) as well as participate in individually scheduled mentoring and call shadowing prior to counseling independently. The training classes build on each other, so it is important not to miss a session.
Medicare Volunteer Certification Curriculum
Class 1: Thursday, February 4 from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm (virtual via Microsoft Teams)
Class 2: Friday, February 12 from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm (in-person at GNRC's offices)
Class 3: Friday, February 19 from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm (in-person at GNRC's offices)
Part of your training is hands-on experience. You can participate in a variety of different events. The event schedule will be provided during the first session. In addition, we will schedule counseling calls for you to observe. You will be asked to provide your availability to shadow counseling calls prior to the start of the cohort.
We will go over the training schedule with you to determine what level of training and commitment is best for you. Application forms and initial conversation with the Volunteer Manager are required for participation. Volunteers who can be involved regularly usually do best with this type of volunteer opportunity as it is very knowledge based. Please reach out with any questions to Rebecca at rnofi@gnrc.org.
