You are invited to attend the fall patient care volunteer training program.  The training will be held all the Thursdays in September, beginning September 7 from 6-9:00 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 122 S. Union Street, in Whitesboro, Texas.

This training is a wonderful life-skills course and trains volunteers to work with the patients and families much like a good neighbor or friend.   A volunteer is part of the hospice interdisciplinary team of RN Case Manager, Social Worker, Nurse Aide and Spiritual Advisor.  A volunteer might sit with a patient, read to them, run errands, provide transportation, and listen to their stories or a variety of other things to make life so much easier for the patient and family.  A volunteer does not perform personal care for a patient.

We match our volunteer’s time with the type of needs of the patient and family.  The seminar covers the basics of hospice philosophy and care, the stages of grief, bereavement care, active listening, the psychosocial effects of terminal illness, hospice nursing and social work, volunteer guidelines and boundaries. Those who go through the training are able to be a Home Hospice volunteer, but they also will come away with the understanding of hospice and the importance of living life every day as fully as possible, along with knowledge beneficial to any caregiving experience.   Later in the year, Home Hospice will undertake a more intensive volunteer program aimed at providing presence through the dying experience for patients who otherwise might die alone.  Unless already trained, anyone interested in this program, needs to attend this training session for patient and family services volunteers as a pre-requisite.

This training is offered to anyone who is interested free of charge, but registration is requested so that adequate materials may be prepared.  We ask that a person wait a year after the death of a loved one to become a volunteer.  This provides time to heal. If you have questions about Volunteer Training or wish to register, please call Barb Samuelson at 903.868.9315 or Kathi Kirby in Cooke County at 940-665-9891 or email barb.samuelson@homehospice.org or Kathi.kirby@homehospice.org.