Hospital Elder Life Program Volunteer (or HELP Volunteer)

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Southern Maine Agency on Aging is teaming up with Southern Maine Health Center (Biddeford) and Maine Medical Center (Portland) to assist with volunteer aid within the Hospital Elder Life Program. MaineHealth is a not-for-profit health system dedicated to improving the health of our patients and communities by providing high-quality affordable care, educating tomorrow’s caregivers, and researching better ways to provide care. The Hospital Elder Life Program seeks to aid patients over the age of 70 in maintaining their cognitive, physical and emotional well-being while hospitalized by working as part of an interdisciplinary team to improve the hospital experience.

Volunteers can help within one of the following focus areas:

• Daily Visitor: helping with orientation, communication and social support
• Feeding Assistant: helping set up trays, providing companionship during meals or feeding patients
• Therapeutic Activities: making sure patients have something to do while in bed or providing activities to encourage active participation and socialization
• Early Mobilization: encouraging patients to do simple exercises or to walk
• Sleep Enhancement: promoting relaxation and good sleep environment
• Vision/Hearing: providing adaptive equipment

Number of volunteers needed: At least 10, may be in need of up to 20.

Where will the volunteer(s) work: Southern Maine Health Care, Biddeford Hospital; OR Maine Medical Center, Portland Hospital; on direct patient-care units - will not be placed on a unit with active COVID patients

When will the volunteer(s) work: Once per week, 3 hour shift. Shifts typically run 9a-12p and 12p-3p. Right now, we are looking to fill weekdays first and then explore weekends and evenings. We would prefer scheduling to be finalized based on our current availability.

When and where will volunteer training/orientation take place: SMHC / MMC

Who will provide the training, and how long will it take: Volunteers will undergo a general hospital orientation. The Elder Life Specialist will provide specific program training. Training typically is a total 12-15 hours. This includes a combination of classroom training and precepted practice with a seasoned volunteer/staff member. Volunteers also participate in periodic retraining and a formal quality assurance process.

ormal quality assurance process.