Amedisys Hospice

Description

Volunteers will be an important member of an interdisciplinary team working to "de-institutionalize" the dying experience and provide a more humane system of care for the dying and their families. To ensure that all volunteers are equipped for the challenge of working with the dying, hospices require that volunteers complete extensive orientation and training sessions, as well as submit to a routine background check. It’s important that volunteers understand the history of hospice and are aware of the specific ways their local hospice works to serve the community.

Direct Activities Include:

• Running errands
• Providing companionship to patients and/or caregivers
• Shopping for patients/caregivers
• Reading to or writing letters for patients
• Attending funerals
• Collecting and arranging donated flowers(i.e. from flower shops, funeral homes)
• Craft projects with patients and/or delivery to patients
• Care calls/tuck-in calls
• Spiritual prayer calls
• Videoing reports and introductions of team/staff for family members who live far away
• Light gardening
• Delivering supplies or equipment to patients' homes or running other errands to relieve staff
• Entertaining patients
• Support to family members
• Support at the time of death
• Helping patients decorate/un-decorate at time of holidays
• Holiday baking with patients and their families
• Christmas caroling at patient’s home
• Creating holiday decorations

Indirect Care Activities Include:

• Staffing booths at open houses
• Preparing monthly newsletters
• Creating hospice volunteer display board(s)
• Assisting with nursing home activities
• Support of social workers with quality of life tool

A hospice volunteer helps fill that gap by being a companion who understands the process of dying and provides compassion, comic relief and conversation; there will be no hands-on medical or patient care required or allowed.