Community Hospice is an end-of-life care center serving Boyd, Greenup, Carter, Lawrence, Elliott, Martin, and Johnson counties as well as Lawrence and Scioto counties in Ohio. The center provides care for those who are terminally ill and wish to receive support and care for their last few months. Currently, Community Hospice is seeking new volunteers through their regular Volunteer Orientation training program.
Andrea Arnett, Director of Volunteer Services, said through this training program they hope people will leave well informed and want to come back to volunteer.
“Those participants will get information from different departments and infection control. They’ll learn about hospice philosophy, what does spiritual care look like at the end of hospice, what does pain management look like, what does grief and bereavement look like, and how do we help family members who have been through that grief and bereavement process,” said Arnett.
Arnett said they will accept volunteers from ages 14 and up who can give short in-home caregiver breaks and make emotional support and companionship visits and nursing home visits. Community Hospice is also currently looking for veterans willing to do vet-to-vet visits, chaplains to provide spiritual support, and people to work the hospitality cart at their Care Center.
Arnett said those who volunteer are providing a great service to both patients and their families.
“I think one great thing that our volunteers can do is just reassure people and be an extra set of eyes and ears for their loved ones just to say, ‘this is normal, this happens, you can do this.’ I think really that our volunteers give a huge asset to the families of our patients,” said Arnett.
Through the Volunteer Orientation program, people get information regarding the process of becoming a volunteer as well as the training they will need to be equipped to help patients. The training program will take place at the Ashland office on June 21 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Interested volunteers can reserve their spot by calling 606-329-1890.