Volunteers

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Volunteers

• Noel Gilligan
• Volunteer Coordinator
• Horizon Hospice

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Volunteers

• Horizon Hospice

"You matter because you are you, and you matter
until the last moment of your life. We will do
all we can, not only to help you die peacefully
but also to live comfortably until you
die." -Dame Cicely Saunders Founder of the
Modern Hospice Movement A hospice volunteer is
someone who listens to me until I hear what Im
saying. - a hospice patient
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Why volunteer for hospice?

• To give back to the community
• Learning and Education
• To become more comfortable with the realities of
  illness and death
• To develop new skills or refine old ones
• Social opportunity
• Beneficent utilization of time
• Help make informed personal or career choices
• Expression of faith/ belief/ spirituality

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Who volunteers for hospice?

• People with time the retired, those between
  careers or in transition.
• Students.
• Professionals.
• Those who seek a comfort level in the face of
  illness and death.
• Family members of hospice patients who saw
  hospice in action and want to give back.

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What is the role of a hospice volunteer?

• Being there
• Listening and supporting
• Errands and breaks for caregivers
• The eyes and ears of hospice
• Fill roles that cannot be filled by other team
  members
• Laundry and Dog-walking
• Organizing photographs and mementos
• Assist patient with life review/ help them tell
  their story
• Baking

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• Reading/ recreational opportunities
• Help patient fulfill their hopes and dreams
  before they die
• Education of patient and family about home- based
  care / advocate for patients in long-term care
  facilities
• Bereavement support for family members after the
  death
• Communicate with team
• Write reports after visits for patient charts
• Attend hospice meetings and educational events

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Helpful suggestions for hospice volunteers

• Change your view of dying persons as sick
  people. Death is a natural part of the
  life-cycle.
• It is not your role to fix things for people.
  Fixed people rarely feel good about being fixed,
  as it implies there is something wrong with
  them in the first place
• Hospice volunteering is more about being than
  doing. As we are a doing society, this can be a
  challenging role.
• There is no such thing as just a volunteer.
• As a hospice volunteer, you are equal in
  importance to the other team members in providing
  care.

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Philosophy of Volunteerism

• Horizon Hospice volunteers are an integral part
  of our team and a fully integrated component of
  the organizations human resources. Horizon
  Hospice was founded by volunteers, and we
  continue to rely on them for support in quality
  patient care, bereavement support and
  administration.

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Implementing the Philosophy

• Volunteers are part of the team so invite them to
  team meetings!
• Provide comprehensive training and orientation
• Provide job descriptions
• Provide ongoing opportunities for education and
  support

• Provide them the information they need to be
  effective, including team extension numbers, and
  patient information.
• Allow them time off between assignments, and
  opportunities for self-care

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Recruitment

• Advertising print media
• Word of Mouth other volunteers
• Faith communities church newsletter
  announcements
• The worldwide web
• www.volunteermatch.org
• Horizon Hospice website
• www.horizonhospice.org

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Orientation

• Application process includes two reference checks
  and interview.
• Volunteers undergo orientation and training
  similar to new staff and their competencies are
  tested.
• Photo IDs, training manuals and safety equipment
  are distributed to all volunteers
• Volunteers are offered a Hepatitis vaccine and
  must undergo a two-step Mantoux test for TB
• Personnel and health files are kept on all
  volunteers

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Training

• Horizon Hospice nurse, Deb Harper RN,
  demonstrates effective Infection Control
  procedures at a recent Volunteer Training.

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Training Syllabus includes

• History and Philosophy of the hospice movement in
  general and Horizon Hospice in particular.
• The Mission Statement
• Ethics.
• Scope of Services.
• Therapeutic relationships and boundaries
• Spiritual and Bereavement Care.
• Active Listening and Communication skills.
• Home and Street Safety.
• Infection Control and Universal Precautions.
• Social Services.
• Nursing and Hands-on Care.

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• Horizon hospice volunteers who recently completed
  training include Sarah Wood Price (Patient Care),
  Michelle Dassinger (Aromatherapy and massage).
  And Evan Kang (Translation services and audio
  recordings for patients)

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Scenarios for discussion and roleplay exercises
in volunteer training

• The primary caregiver is so relieved to see the
  volunteer because she is totally burned out with
  care-giving.
• It is your first telephone call to the family or
  patient since you took on the assignment. How do
  you begin the conversation?
• The family has left for an event and you are
  alone with the patient who is too tired to have a
  conversation or who dozes off.
• The family leaves and the patient tells you I
  just wish this was over.
• You are sitting at a patients bedside when a
  family dispute erupts downstairs. Voices are
  raised and doors slammed. The patient is visibly
  shaken.
• The brother or sister of a patient asks you out
  on a date.

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Scenarios, continued

• The caregiver or patient ask you to volunteer a
  full day next week even though the suggested
  volunteer limit in the Horizon Hospice manual is
  four hours per week.
• You notice the patient is in a soiled or unclean
  environment.
• The family offers you a gift before you leave.
  Imagine that gift, large medium or small.
• The patient tells you she has doubts she is going
  to get better and that she still has many things
  she feels she wants to do in life. She tells you
  it is grossly unfair that she has worked hard to
  raise a family and now just when they all had
  flown the nest and she was about to retire and
  enjoy life, she gets hit by this. Imagine your
  conversation.
• The patient dies during your visit.

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Volunteer Retention

• Invitations to attend weekly team meetings,
• Quarterly educational in-services and support
  groups
• Communication with team members while on
  assignment each volunteer is provided with the
  telephone extension of the nurse, social worker,
  chaplain, and volunteer coordinator. They in
  turn, are provided with the volunteers

• Annual Recognition event with the presentation of
  Awards
• Discounts for annual benefit and other
  fundraising events
• Invitations to memorial services
• Biannual newsletter
• Team skills

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Volunteer Recognition
Founding volunteer, Ada Addington, speaks to
volunteers at the 25th Anniversary Recognition
dinner, left, while below, volunteer Sherman
Blackman enjoys the evening with Horizon Hospice
social worker, Linda North and Nurses Aide, Rosa
Armijo.
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Volunteer Community Network

• Trained volunteers bring these skills to their
  families, homes and workplace
• Knowledge of hospice allows trained volunteers to
  help their communities make informed choices
  about end-of-life care and the hospice option

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Volunteers

• Worked over 4,000 hours during 2000 and almost
  5,000 in 2002
• Assist our Board of Directors with fundraising,
  public relations and special events

• Are essential to the function of this hospice
• Are at the heart of our care during the holidays
  they donated supplies of food, clothing and
  personal toiletries to our most needy families

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What volunteers say

• Hospice patients and their families give me so
  much more than I could ever give them.
• I have volunteered with many helping
  organizations but with hospice I feel especially
  valued as part of the team.
• I enjoy being on the team. I never feel alone and
  its good to have comprehensive support.

• Volunteering for hospice is more about being
  with people than doing things for them. It is
  truly a ministry of presence.
• Each case is so unique. In over 20 years as a
  volunteer with Horizon Hospice, I havent been
  with two patients who were similar.