What Does it Mean to Be a Hospice Volunteer?

The qualities of a good hospice volunteer include:

• An understanding and acceptance of their own feelings regarding death and dying.
• A strong comfort level with people approaching death (however, direct experience with death and dying is not required).
• Good listening skills.

The type of activities offered include:

• Companionship
• Supportive listening and conversation
• Applying holistic therapies
• Reading or other activities of interest
• Support with life review (reminiscing, looking back over one’s life and sharing stories, pictures, etc.)
• Assistance with documenting one’s life story
• Support with audio or video-taping treasured messages for one’s family
• Letter writing
• Light chores, tasks, projects, errands
• Caregiver respite

Our patients reside in their own homes, skilled nursing facilities, retirement homes and assisted living facilities. Volunteers also assist in our administrative offices.

Individuals who have experience with bereavement can serve as leaders for our grief support groups.

What Is the Commitment?

• Hospice volunteering involves visiting one or more patients and/or their family per week. Visits are arranged either during the week or on weekends. You don’t necessarily have to see the patient the same time each week.
• We ask for a weekly commitment of two hours (includes travel time).
• We request a one year’s commitment so that our patients can see the same volunteer during the time they are receiving hospice services.

Is There Training?

All volunteers receive an initial 2 1/2 hour orientation. We discuss:

• The history and philosophy of hospice.
• The process of death and dying.
• An overview of the roles and responsibilities of each member of the hospice team.
• Methods of offering compassionate care to the terminally ill patient and their loved ones.

Subsequent to the initial orientation, evening training sessions are held throughout the year on various topics related to hospice and palliative care.

To join us as a volunteer, contact the corporate recruiter at 805-371-9988 or volunteerforhospice@assistedca.com.