“Our volunteers play such an important role in the services that FirstHealth Hospice & Palliative Care provides,” says Joan Coleman, Hospice & Palliative Care volunteer coordinator. “They typically spend anywhere from two to four hours a week providing care and support to patients, their families and our staff.”
On a regular basis, volunteers pick up medications and groceries, run errands for patients and their families and provide office support, assisting Hospice nurses with administrative responsibilities.
They also help with special projects, such as Light Up a Life — the annual Hospice memorial service, Camp Lost & Found for children and teen-agers who have lost a loved one to death, and the organization’s annual volunteer recognition barbecue. And they ensure that identified patients don’t die alone, through the organization’s LightKeeper Vigil program.
On April 28, Coleman is looking forward to meeting a new batch of volunteers who will be attending FirstHealth Hospice & Palliative Care’s annual spring volunteer training session.
“We’re looking forward to meeting anyone who is interested in becoming a volunteer and who is dedicated to attending our training session from April 28 through around noontime May 1,” Coleman said.
Volunteer trainees will gather at FirstHealth Hospice & Palliative Care, 5 Aviemore Drive in Pinehurst, at 8:30 a.m. on the first training day to learn about FirstHealth of the Carolinas, FirstHealth Hospice & Palliative Care, and the FirstHealth Hospice Foundation.
In addition, members of the Hospice staff will present information on caregiving, Medicare, Medicaid, understanding disease and conditions, and the importance of care and comfort.
The following day, trainees will attend informational programs on healthy boundaries and stress, ethical and legal considerations, spiritual care and understanding bereavement.
They’ll also hear from a panel of Hospice volunteers who will share their personal experiences and answer any questions that the trainees might have.
The third day of training will focus on safety in the home, concepts of death and dying, communicating with patients and families, the Hospice family, cultural diversity, nursing home and assisted-living precautions, infection control and universal precautions, tuberculosis testing, hepatitis vaccination and administrative responsibilities.
The program will conclude May 1, when volunteers meet at 9 a.m. to learn about the roles that funeral homes play in the progression of Hospice care.
As a not-for-profit agency dedicated to providing compassionate, quality health care for persons with illnesses, FirstHealth Hospice & Palliative Care aims to provide emotional, spiritual and physical support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
To learn more about FirstHealth Hospice & Palliative Care, or to register for the free training program, interested persons can call 215-6000.
Shelley Martin Hammond is a corporate communications specialist with FirstHealth of the Carolinas.
