Hospice Intern Program

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A CACIA H OSPICE V OLUNTEER O PPORTUNITIES

& I NTERNSHIP P ROGRAM

Acacia Hospice is a non-profit end-of-life care organization located in Burlington County and serving patients and their families across the region. We pour our hearts into providing compassionate care to those who are dying and to filling their lives with ease, comfort, dignity, and honor while they live their last days with us. We have various internship and volunteer opportunities for students and community members

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Acacia Hospice volunteers are treasured members of our hospice family and we are incredibly grateful for the love and support they bring to our work. We are always looking for community members who want to take part in the care we provide and there are many ways to do so. We are on the lookout for Patient & Family Support Volunteers to serve as companions to patients and their families, Administrative Support volunteers to help with a number of office and organizational projects, Pet Therapy volunteers who would like to bring their certified animals to brighten our patients’ lives, Music Therapy volunteers to play and sing with those we serve, and Veteran/Military Spouse volunteers who want to support other veterans & their spouses who are receiving end-of-life care. Additionally, we are always looking for people who like to craft to help sew, crochet, and knit quilts and blankets for our patients. We provide free training, an amazingly supportive team environment, and lots of gratitude.

INTERNSHIPS

Veteran Support & Recognition Program

When Veteran patients come on to our hospice services we are honored and humbled to be able to provide them with end-of-life care. Interns focused on veteran supports with Acacia will participate in outreach to local Congressional offices to request proclamations on behalf of patients. Veteran support interns will lead community outreach to promote veteran-focused events and will help with event planning.

Media & Recording Support

We would love for a student to work with our team in an audio-visual capacity to help produce Story Corp-like audio recordings and mini-documentaries that celebrate the remarkable lives our patients have lived. Twice a year we host a Memorial Service to honor the lives of those who passed while on our hospice service. We would love for an intern to help with the media for these events.

Music & Memory Program

When new patients come on to our hospice services, we learn from them and their families what music has been important throughout their lives. We are a certified provider of the Music & Memory program which means that we custom load iPods with playlists of music that correspond to each patient's musical preferences. We then deliver the iPod along with a set of headphones or a small speaker so that the patient and their family can utilize music to bring comfort and happy memories. Musical favorites tap deep memories to improve quality of life. Music has also been shown to help reduce anxiety and depression and to help moderate pain. We would love to have a social services intern/volunteer support us to review the musical history questionnaire, to conduct musical preference assessments with patients and their families, to download music and load iPods, and then to present iPods to patients and their families and engage them in listening to music. Additional opportunities include event planning and opportunities for direct patient & family support. We would love for an intern, having studied and experienced the Music & Memory program, to culminate their internship by helping to organize a community viewing of the documentary Alive Inside which is described as "a joyous cinematic exploration of music’s capacity to reawaken our souls and uncover the deepest parts of our humanity."

Program Development & Community Outreach

We are in the process of redeveloping our volunteer handbook and amplifying our volunteer recruitment and retention. In order to support our end-of-life patients with as much honor and dignity as possible, we seek to develop a rigorous volunteer base thus the intern will be engaged in recruitment and outreach efforts. This might include attendance at community events, developing fliers and spreading them throughout the community, reaching out to local corporations to build partnerships, and any other method of outreach/engagement the intern dreams up. We are looking for an intern who loves to write, edit, research, and think critically about care delivery models to help make our volunteer program as patient-centered and quality-oriented as possible.

Thank you for considering us!

All internships and volunteer assignments require completion of our online training program as well as medical clearances since interns will occasionally interface with patients in a health care setting. Interns must have an interest in learning more about hospice & palliative care and be passionate about patient-centered models of care.

If you are interested in learning more about volunteering or interning with Acacia Hospice, please contact:

Elizabeth Wolf

Volunteer Coordinator

Direct: 609-589-4072

Mobile: 609-864-1614

Main Office: 609-589-4444

ewolf@njmasonic.org

www.acaciahospice.org