Officials report there’s a real need for hospice care volunteers in north-eastern Kentucky. To help meet that need, Community Hospice in Ashland has scheduled a new volunteer training session. Officials said it’s an opportunity for people to get a feel for the organization, which serves seven Kentucky counties, and be trained at the same time.
Andrea Arnet, Director of Volunteer Services at Community Hospice, said volunteers are an important part of their everyday operations, and everyone is welcome, with no previous skills required.
“There’s a variety of things, and what I always tell people is if you want to volunteer with hospice we will find a job for you, all you have to do is meet with me and tell me where your interests lie. We have a lot of volunteers at our care center, we have an inpatient unit in Ashland, and we have all kinds of different opportunities at our care center,” said Arnet.
Officials said there’s a particular need for volunteers interested in providing short in-home caregiver breaks, emotional support, and companionship visits to nursing home patients, and those willing to make bereavement follow-up phone calls. Training is designed to help people figure out what it is they want to do.
“It’s a two-day training, so it's two full days here at the office, it’s 9-4:30 both days, and I have someone from almost every department come in and kind of talk about what their department does, and how we help support patients through those departments,” said Arnet.
Volunteers determine when and how often they are available to assist, and Arnet said positions are available to high school and college students who want to help.
The training is set for March 12 and 13 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. More information can be found by contacting Community Hospice Volunteer Services.