Hospice Volunteers may ask, “What’s to learn? I am just sitting with a patient.”

Volunteer Coordinators may answer, “Quite a bit, if you intend to do it properly.”

The lessons provided to you as a New Hospice Volunteer will continue to serve you, as you yourself, face turbulent challenges and devastating losses in your life. Whatever your spiritual beliefs, they will be enhanced by this experience. The New Hospice Volunteer Training starts with the Hospice Volunteer Orientation Classes and then is supplemented every quarter with Hospice Volunteer Continuing Education Classes. The descriptive names of the classes are listed below:

• Confidentiality and Patient Rightsjavascript:void(0)
• Definition, Philosophy, History and Principles of Hospice
• Role of Volunteer
• The Hospice Medicare Benefit
• The Interdisciplinary Team
• Pain Management
• Other Symptom Management
• Understanding End Stages of Common Hospice Diagnosis

• Signs & Symptoms of Approaching Death
• Family Dynamics and Terminal Illness
• Developing Good Communication Skills
• Stages of Loss / Grief and Bereavement
• Cultural and Religious Diversity
• Spirituality
• How to Handle Difficult Situations
• Advance Directives

• Nutrition and Hydration at the End of Life
• Basic Patient Care
• Stress Management: Taking Care of Yourself
• Safety and Body Mechanics
• Infection Control
• How to Maintain Boundaries
• Volunteer Documentation
• Volunteer Duties and Responsibilities

New Hospice Volunteers are immediately enfolded “under the protective wing” of the Volunteers Coordinator. Your Volunteer Coordinator will watch over you and nurture you as you discover your inner gifts and evolve into a fully fledged Hospice Volunteer. Our Hospice Volunteers come from all walks of life, with a multi-cultural blend of backgrounds, education and experience. Your Volunteer Coordinator will help navigate you to the best of four places to apply your skills or let your heart be your guide:

• Patient/Family Services [performed at hospital, in-home or skilled nursing facility]
• Office Assistance [performed in the Maxcare Hospice office]
• Community Outreach [performed at local events and non-profit outings and social media]
• Bereavement [performed in the Maxcare Hospice office]

This is the most intense area of Hospice Volunteering. If you are ready to “roll up your sleeves” and “open your heart” then this is the right place for you. You will be directly serving the terminally ill and their families. Be ready to provide various forms of assistance in comfort measure through reading or writing letters for the patient or other meaningful and heartwarming activities. Offer a much needed break to family members / caregivers. Don’t think that you will know what to say to someone going through the dying process? You won’t, so just smile, hold their hand and sit quietly. Their gratitude will shine through their eyes and be yours to keep and take home.

If you are a facilitator who enjoys working “behind the scenes”, then this is the opportunity for you. You will be utilizing your office skills in assisting with clerical work, filing, answering telephones, etc. You may get to use your “sense of style” while assisting in preparing and mailing newsletters, invitations, and announcements. One thing is for sure; you will get to apply your office talents, with integrity, in a way that you know truly helps others.

If you are an “outgoing person” who has the courage to promote something as unpopular as caring for the dying, then this is the niche for you. We need presenters who are able to raise community awareness of the Maxcare Hospice concept and philosophy. We want “beacons of the community” that will perform speaking engagements and host social programs. We are looking for established internet marketers who already have a big social media network in place and want to use their powers for good, not evil. Additional training as well as experience as a hospice volunteer is required.

If you are a loving nurturer who is very resilient, has a healthy understanding of life and a positive view of death, then this is the role for you. Be prepared to offer condolences, companionship, and compassion to everyone you encounter. Your “inner self” may develop while writing thank you notes or sympathy cards. You might be surprised at who, at any stage of the dying process, may turn to you for on-going support. Be ready to offer solace to anyone touched by the transition and provide them bereavement support for up to 12 months. Additional training as well as experience as a hospice volunteer is required.