Hospice seeks companions for terminally ill

Sometimes we hear the words ?I could never do that?, or ?That work is too depressing.? But then some remarkable person comes forward to tell us they would like to volunteer to help the terminally ill and their families as part of the Lazarus House Hospice team.

To do this type of work a volunteer must go through 15 hours of training over a four-week period. In the training volunteers learn about the four facets of hospice care: the nursing program, our chaplain service, our social worker?s responsibilities, and the volunteer?s role in helping care for the terminally ill patient. In addition to this they develop communication techniques to learn what to say and what not to say to dying patients and their families.

Volunteers can do a number of things to help our patients and their families. They can sit with the patient while the caregiver goes to town to run errands. They can read to the patient or simply sit and quietly talk so the person doesn?t feel lonely. A volunteer can do odd jobs around the home like washing dishes or planting a flower bed so the family can feel as if everything is normal and functioning.

Sometimes a volunteer and patient will be able to go out for a ride in the car to see the countryside. With some patients who don?t have a caregiver, a volunteer can visit them and help with care. Lazarus House Hospice only asks our volunteers to spend an average of two hours per week with their patient or family. Most volunteers don?t have a problem with this and say they receive more benefits than they give.

Lazarus House Hospice serves the 15 counties of the Upper Cumberland area: Bledsoe, Cannon, Clay, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, Smith, Van Buren, Warren and White.

Lazarus House Hospice especially needs volunteers in Bledsoe, Warren, Cannon, DeKalb, White, and Van Buren counties, however volunteers will be accepted from any part of our service area.

Medicare requires hospices to provide 5 percent of patient-care activities on a volunteer basis. This last year Lazarus House Hospice volunteers provided almost 5,000 hours of ?care time? to our patients and their families. This makes for a marked difference in quality of life for patients in our community.

Would you like to become one of these remarkable volunteers? Lazarus House Hospice is currently taking applications for volunteer training classes. Classes will be held soon at our McMinnville office. To receive an application, call Lazarus House Hospice (931) 520-1705 or 1-(800) 468-4123.