Hospice volunteers: Reunion special people with special needs
Many people know that hospice call for volunteers caring for a break with the challenges of caring for someone who is terminally ill. What you may not know is the many forms just take this May.
"There is not a type of volunteering when you speak of palliative care volunteers," says Mari Beth Hackett, coordinator of volunteers in Benton Hospice service. "Each volunteer brings its own set of experiences, interests and abilities. We are able to meet almost any request for palliative care of our families because our volunteers share their time and talents so freely. " There are many different ways a person can volunteer. In addition to providing respite for caregivers, volunteers palliative care could cut hair and style, playing the harp, guitar, drums or a keyboard, take fishermen, sew pillows and comfortable robes, go grocery shopping, to build ramps for wheelchairs, prepare meals, rubbing shoulders, hands and feet, or read aloud to patients. Any interest or skill can become an avenue for volunteering. A request is common for a visit with a therapy dog. Benton Hospice Service works with local authorities Welcome Waggers and has several volunteers who take their well-trained dogs to share a bit of "Puppy Love" with patients and families. Sandra Miller is a Welcome Wagger which has claimed more than 400 visits to more than 85 terminally ill people with his shih-tzu Kaywanna since 2001. "I have a lot of it, inside and out," said Sandra. "Seeing how Kaywanna brings a smile to patients face fills my heart." But it is not only dogs that will visit. "Once we had a patient who loved sheep," Hackett recalled. "I asked a volunteer who has raised sheep to bring a couple of lambs on a visit. It was a simple thing that means a lot for our patients. " Another very popular service volunteers is to provide Benton Hospice Service compassion Companion Program. This program is for people who are actively dying and do not want to be alone. Volunteers and take these changes are quietly with that person around the clock during their last hours of life. Jerry Hull took part in five vigils, often volunteering for the long, quiet hours in the middle of the night. "I do it because I do not want someone I care about to die alone," says Jerry. "And if I can avoid this from happening to someone else, I'll do . " Another way of palliative care volunteers to support patients and families through BHS is the life history program. Training of volunteers maintenance and record a patient, they talk about their experiences and memories. Photos and music are added to the sequence published to create DVDs for families to keep. "This is a wonderful opportunity for people to reflect on their lives and remember the good times," said Nancy Warren, who has been stories of life since 2005. "I often say that the scope of our volunteer program is limited only by the imagination of our volunteers," say Hackett. "When a retired florist has come to us with a desire to help, she discovered a way to put his talents to create beautiful flower arrangements of flowers donated each week from the Safeway on Philomath Blvd. These packages are light in so many of our patients' days. " Most of all, our volunteers provide hands, listening ears and hearts warm. If you have a particular talent that you'd like to share or if you want to know more about volunteering to serve Hospice Benton, Mari please contact Beth Hackett, Volunteer Coordinator, at 541-757-9616 or maribeth.hackett@bentonhospice.org. |
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