Patient Companion - Hospice Volunteer

Visiting the sick is a nice thing to do. It can also be a hard thing to do. You have to want to do it. Are you someone who understands the benefits that your time and inconvenience can mean to a stranger that you visit who is under Hospice Care?If you answer that with a "yes," please respond to this post.

We are always in need of caring individuals who can overcome the hassles of getting involved, and can commit to being there for another. Regulations and best practices don’t make it easy to get involved, with the demands of health checks, background checks and orientation material to review and participate in. And then there are the myriad more attractive enticements for your time, compared to the prospect of sitting quietly with a Hospice Patient... Yet, if you can be a consistent presence for someone, you’ll find, I’m sure, what every other Hospice Volunteer who has been doing it for a while understands : You’ll get more from the experience than you’ll give. There is a satisfaction in being there for someone who needs the support of a stranger.

You don’t need a medical background to be involved. You do have to have time to give. Just a couple of hours a week is all. Also, you need to want to be of help to someone in the way that they want to be helped. Meaning, you can’t have an agenda with the time you give; you need to allow the visit with a Hospice patient be dictated by their needs... Where they are at the moment you are with them. Sometimes they may want to be distracted with frivolous activities : cards, a puzzle or watching TV, and sometimes they need to unload and share their fears of the unknown that is looming in the future for them. And many of our patients have lost the ability to project into the future, but are stuck in a fog of the past, yet they need company too, as they shuffle along, following their disease progression.

Again, if the proceeding is resonating with you, reach out by replying to this post. You’ll get an email with details about the onboarding process. We hope to hear from you.