A Hospice Veteran Volunteer

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VITAS is a Level 4 Partner in the NHPCO's "We Honor Veterans" initiative and wants to enlist your services to care for terminally ill veterans living at home and in nursing homes and assisted living communities throughout San Diego County. VITAS Veteran Volunteers do not need to be U.S. Veterans; you need only the desire to remember; honor and support America 's living heroes.

VITAS Veteran Volunteers visit terminally ill veterans; conduct Pinning Ceremonies, provide weekly friendly visits, help replace military medals by contacting appropriate agencies; Conduct Life Reviews and document in a book, a website or video; telephone veterans to ask how they are doing; attend or help plan activities celebrating Memorial Day and Veteran's Day; educate veteran's groups about hospice services by speaking at their meetings.

All volunteers must attend a comprehensive orientation to gain the knowledge you will need to work with terminally ill patients. These are currently held online via Zoom and/or via self-study.

In order to comply with the State of California’s COVID requirements, all volunteers must have one of the two items below.

1. Be fully vaccinated with booster (proof required) with no testing requirements
2. Apply for a VITAS vaccine exemption (reviewed on a case-by-case basis) with proof of weekly negative tests required