VOLUNTEERS ARE THE HEART OF HOSPICE
Are you a well-rounded person with the desire to provide support to people who are in the final phase of life? If so, consider becoming a Hospice Patient Care Volunteer.
The hospice component of Housecall Providers offers physical, emotional, and spiritual support to our primary care patients who are nearing the end of life. Hospice care uses a team approach and the members include the Medical Director, RN, Medical Social Worker, Certified Home Health Aide, Chaplain, and Patient Care Volunteers. We work in partnership with the family members and paid caregivers who make up the patients’ immediate circle of care providers.
Volunteers are a critical part of the hospice team and bring with them companionship, compassion, and the opportunity for socialization as they visit our patients who are moving through this very special time of life.
Patient Care Volunteers complete 28 hours of training prior to seeing patients. The majority of our patients live in foster care homes so visits usually take place there. Some patients live in their own homes so volunteers can also provide weekly respite visits for family members caring for a patient. After the initial training, we provide monthly educational in-services and support meetings.
Training topics include:
• Hospice Overview and Role of the Volunteer
• Disease Process and Symptom Management
• Pain Relief at End-of-Life
• Spirituality
• Psycho-Social Issues for Patients and Families
• Grief and Bereavement
For more information, please contact Karin O’Connor, Hospice Volunteer Coordinator, at 503-988-5336 x 232 or koconnor@housecallproviders.org
Do you ever shop on line?
If you do, we have a new way for you to support Housecall Providers. Called CafeGive, and accessed here from the Housecall Providers website, it is a link to many merchants who agree to give us a small percentage of their sales made through our link.
The donation actually comes from the merchants and does not change what the consumer pays for their purchase. If you log onto the Housecall Providers website, you will see the CafeGive name and logo on the homepage. If you click on it, you enter the CafeGive website, which will tell you that you are shopping to benefit Housecall Providers. From there, you choose the merchant you wish to shop with (there are over 200). You are directed to their site and your purchases are tracked. Each merchant gives a different percentage to the nonprofits that participate. Every quarter, Housecall Providers receives a check from CafeGive based on purchases made through our link. It costs you nothing and adds virtually no time to your online shopping. There has never been an easier way to support us!
Links to Articles
Read our most recent newsletter here
Housecalls Eyed as Model to Cut Costs
Housecalls as cost-saver in health care reform?
Health care savings just a housecall away Daily Press, New port News, VA - August 16, 2009
She just wants help having her voice heard - OregonLive.com - November 19, 2008