Volunteers are an integral part of the Hospice Palliative Care Team. Through a variety of volunteer roles and settings, they provide compassionate care, comfort, and support to patients living with a life-limiting illness, and their families/visitors.
Volunteers may assist with non-medical support, such as providing a listening ear, sharing memories, taking a patient out for a stroll, playing cards, writing a letter, preparing a snack or providing refreshments, etc. Volunteers may also help with simple comfort measures such as giving a back rub or foot rub to a patient, fixing a patient’s hair or laundering a patient’s personal clothing. Volunteers can also provide brief (2-4 hours) respite for family members who may require respite.
Community volunteers offer the same support as above only in the patients’ homes or nursing homes. This program is on a referral basis and volunteers are matched with patients and visit with them usually once or twice per week. Volunteers spend time with the patients at home to provide much needed companionship or possibly respite for the caregiver.
The End-of-Life Comfort Volunteer sits with patients, who would otherwise be alone, during their last hours of life. Volunteers are placed on a call list for when a patient is dying and either doesn’t have enough family members to be there 24/7 or has no family and does not want to die alone. Please note that shifts could be through the night if necessary.
Volunteers will be the first point of contact for anyone entering the Hospice. They will be responsible for greeting patients and visitors and providing directions and information.
Volunteers may assist with non-medical support, such as providing a listening ear, sharing memories, taking a patient out for a stroll, playing cards, writing a letter, preparing a snack or providing refreshments, etc. Volunteers may also help with simple comfort measures such as giving a back rub or foot rub to a patient, fixing a patient’s hair or laundering a patient’s personal clothing. Volunteers can also provide brief (2-4 hours) respite for family members who may require respite.
Not everyone is comfortable around death and dying but most people do want to help. Our Community Helping Hands Program is an opportunity for those folks to assist our patients and their families without having to be hands on in the home or at the bedside. These volunteers have the time, skills, tools, and abilities to assist with everyday tasks that our Palliative Care patients may be struggling with. Some of these tasks would include:
Hospice Palliative Care provides a very holistic approach to patient care. Volunteers with special skills such as hair stylists, estheticians, yoga instructors, massage therapists, art therapists, etc. can provide comfort, stress relief and healing. All professional volunteers are required to provide proof of certification in their respective professions.
To support and promote compassionate care for individuals and their loved ones who need palliative and end-of-life care.
