What do volunteers do?

Hospice Volunteers Can Do Just About Anything!

• Specially trained 11th hour volunteers spend time at the bedside while a patient is “actively dying,” ensuring that no one dies alone.
• Listening to a patient’s concerns.
• Being a comforting and supportive presence.
• Hold a hand.
• Bake a cake.
• Listen to cherished memories.
• Pat a shoulder. Give a hug.
• Touch a heart.
• Change a life (maybe your own).
• Engaging in the patient’s hobbies; for example, playing a board game or discussing current events.
• Informing other hospice staff of the needs of the hospice patient and family.
• Running errands or doing light housekeeping for the patient and family.
• Encouraging the patient to tell her/his life story and recording it on cassette tapes provided for them.
• Allowing time for the caregiver to take care of her/himself.
• Providing bereavement support to families following patient’s death. (Additional training provided.)