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.
The most wonderful thing about this opportunity is, that you will be able to give clients peace of mind and you can witness first-hand the impact you are making in the beneficiary's life with the information you provide.
This training is designed for new volunteers to the program. Attendance of all activities are required to become certified as a counselor. The classes will build on each other, so it is important not to miss a session.
For 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 for a total of 10 hours of initial training.
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 the required activities in-between the sessions). Full certification as a counselor requires a minimum of 18 hours of initial training. Additional mentoring will be provided thereafter until the volunteer is able to provide counseling on their own.
Medicare Volunteer Certification Curriculum
Class 1: Thursday, August 1 from 8:30-12:30 (virtual via Microsoft Teams)
Class 2: Friday, August 9 from 8:30-12:30 (in-person at GNRC's offices)
Class 3: Thursday, August 22 from 8:30-12:30 (in-person at GNRC's offices)
Part of your training is hands-on experience. You can participate in a variety of different events we will provide.
In addition, we will assign some independent learning and schedule counseling calls for you to observe. You will be asked to provide your availability to shadow counseling calls between the 2nd and 3rd class.
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.
