Hello,

Thank you for reaching out about our company and the volunteering team.

Our company was founded as Bristol Hospice in 2006 with one hospice in SLC, Utah and now we are all across the nation. We are one of the leaders in the hospice industry and this is a very stable and company.

This type of volunteering can be very stressful, as we are dealing with people at the end of life, it could also be the most rewarding type of giving back there is. It’s a choice you have to think very seriously about. If you can visit one patient 1 time per week and commit to it on a regular basis then this is the volunteering place for you. We have a team of 18 volunteers and they have all remained busy during COVID-19 by writing letters and making phone calls to our patients. We are now able to go to patient’s homes and also, some of the facilities are slowly opening back up . I am looking for someone who can stay active and visit a patient 1 time per week. It can be weekends, we can work with your schedule.

I encourage you to visit our website if you would like to get more familiarized with our company. www.bristolhospice.com

I would like to explain a little about how we work at Bristol hospice.

We are NOT an inpatient unit. We go visit our patients where they live, be it a home, apartment, memory care unit, nursing home, independent living, or assisted living facility. Our territory is all of metro Atlanta and all the way west to Carrollton, Dallas, Mableton, Douglasville, Hyrum, Marietta, Smyrna, Vinings, Kennesaw, Acworth, Canton, Ball Ground, Cumming, Gwinnett, Dacula, Winder, Loganville, Snellville, SW Atlanta, Fairburn, Jonesboro. We do try to find a patient in an area you would like to volunteer in but just know, there is travel involved. We do not do any hands-on care for the patient’s we provide COMPANIONSHIP, LIGHT HOUSEKEEPING, RESPITE VISITS. The Volunteer is mainly to keep a patient company and keep them from being lonely. You can read to the patient, watch tv with them, chat, do life reviews, go through photo albums, help them create a photo album, or just sit quietly with them while they rest. Giving the GIFT OF PRESENCE is the best gift we can give a person at the end of life.

All of our patients are tested for COVID and we would never send a volunteer into a home if a patient is displaying symptoms and vise versa. There is always a need for people who have the following talents: Musical, (singing, playing an instrument) Crafting, painting, and vigil volunteers who sit with an actively dying patient so they don’t pass away alone.

If you would like to proceed with the application process I will attach it.

Here is a list of onboarding procedures in order of being completed:

• Fill out and return the application (electronic version or you can print it and scan it back to me.)
• Agree to do a background check - the email will be sent to you to log on and give permission for the background check (we pay for this)
• Drug test and TB, if you don’t have a current TB test. once you log on to do a background check an email will be sent to you with an "E-PASSPORT" to take with you for your drug test and TB. This is a separate email and will come within a few hours of your consent to a background check. This will take your information of the area you live in and send you to a partnered Concentra or mini clinic to do the drug test. We pay for both a drug test and TB test and it would have to be done within two weeks or it expires.
• Relias training modules online - These are mandatory both onboarding and annually to be sure you are as up to date with the latest training available. There are generally 12 modules online that make up the training portion. This will be assigned to you once I know your drug and TB test has been emailed to you. You will need to let me know when you receive that email so I can add your log-in and password for you to start working on the modules. You will need a computer and internet access for these modules. The entire set of modules need to be completed before we move to the next step.
• Orientation. Once your Relias is done we will schedule an orientation where we go over our company’s policies and train on how to volunteer and how to do clinical notes. At that time I will give you your Bristol Volunteer supplies, take your picture for your volunteer badge. I will need a copy of your car insurance, as well as any time it is renewed. I will need a copy of your current GA driver’s license for your volunteer file.
• Fingerprinting application. We will log on and do the application for your fingerprinting. It will be printed and you will be given a location to go get your fingerprinting done. This is an off-site fingerprinting location. It’s a GA law that went into effect as of October 2020 so fingerprinting is now mandatory with all volunteers or healthcare-related fields.
• Meet your patient. We will match you up with a patient either that day or when you are ready. I will go with you to your first visit and introduce you and make sure you are comfortable with your patient and then we will develop a schedule that works for you and your patient. You can start going alone if you’re ready, if not I can shadow you again until you are ok to make your visits alone.
• Participation. We do community projects both on weekdays and weekends so we always encourage our volunteers to participate if they can.