Hospice volunteer training was at the forefront recently at the Home Nursing Agency as seven Blair County residents completed the training sponsored by the agency.
Volunteer training classes include the hospice philosophy of care, communication skills, understanding family dynamics, stress management, terminal illness, pain control, and bereavement support. Classes prepare volunteers to provide various services and to meet the individual needs of hospice patients and caregivers.
These volunteers are an integral part of a team of caring professionals.
Volunteers provide support and relief for the family and companionship for the patient. Home Nursing’s hospice volunteers gave more than 3,000 hours of service last year.
Hospice is a special kind of care offered by a team of professionals and volunteers, who offer support and compassion around-the-clock for people in the final phases of an incurable disease so that they may live as comfortably and alert as possible. Hospice exists in the hope and belief that through appropriate care and promotion of a caring community sensitive to their needs – patients and families may be free to attain a degree of mental and spiritual preparation for death that is satisfactory to them.
For more information on the hospice program or to become a volunteer, call 1-800-445-6262 and ask for the Hospice Program, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
