Volunteer Ideas

Specialties Hospice

Published

Specializes in Oncology.

hi there!

i am a hospice volunteer and i would love some advice from you guys! what are some things that i could do as a volunteer to make the patients more comfortable, at ease, etc? fortunately, my hospice gives the volunteers lots of leadway concerning what they can do. i visit patients at their homes and at nursing homes. things that i do during my visits include reading, lotioning faces and hands, swabing mouths, changing clothing, brushing hair and assisting with feeding. do any of you have other creative ideas that you could share with me?

thanks! :redbeathe

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Specializes in Home Health, Hospice.
hi there!

do any of you have other creative ideas that you could share with me?

thanks! :redbeathe

thank heaven for volunteers! i can think of a few things that might be helpful:

1.help organize family photos, sometimes children forget who all the people are in those old albums.(i have a box of pix that i never got labled)

2. write down life memories as the patient dictates. start by asking questions, "where did you grow up?.. did you have a pet?..favorite toy?..favorite food?"

3. nail polish can be nice, if permitted, and gives a "lift" to the spirits,too!

4.compile some favorite music and transfer it to tape or cd to bring along while you visit; this is especially nice if you play music that your patient knew in younger days.

5.memories of children as they grew may be forgotten, but once written, can be bound with a ribbon and given to children to remember a parent by. we don't always tell our children how we feel, so it would be nice to have in writing.(i was so proud of johnny when....mary never knew how i got that dress altered for the prom....it broke my heart to see sally go through that, but i had to be strong for her...ect), you get the idea.

hospice is all about ending a life, and tying up loose ends. it should be a time for remembering the good things, and, if necessary, putting those things down on paper. good luck, and thank you!

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My mom volunteers for our hospice and she talks to the family before she sees the pt. (She mainly goes to nsg homes). She'll find books or music that the pt likes. Even if they are Alz pts, she'll read to them or play music for them.

Thank you for making a difference & being a volunteer!! :yelclap:

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hi there!

i am a hospice volunteer and i would love some advice from you guys! what are some things that i could do as a volunteer to make the patients more comfortable, at ease, etc? fortunately, my hospice gives the volunteers lots of leadway concerning what they can do. i visit patients at their homes and at nursing homes. things that i do during my visits include reading, lotioning faces and hands, swabing mouths, changing clothing, brushing hair and assisting with feeding. do any of you have other creative ideas that you could share with me?

thanks! :redbeathe

not trying to hijack the thread, but i'm very interested in hospice volunteer work. my end goal is to become a hospice nurse but i'd like to volunteer now. i've contacted our local hospice volunteer coordinator, and she is going to send me some information, but i'd like some advice from someone who is already volunteering. what type of training did you go through, if any? what types of things do you do? i'm most interested in direct patient care. any advice you can give someone starting out?:)

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hi there!

i am a hospice volunteer and i would love some advice from you guys! what are some things that i could do as a volunteer to make the patients more comfortable, at ease, etc? fortunately, my hospice gives the volunteers lots of leadway concerning what they can do. i visit patients at their homes and at nursing homes. things that i do during my visits include reading, lotioning faces and hands, swabing mouths, changing clothing, brushing hair and assisting with feeding. do any of you have other creative ideas that you could share with me?

thanks! :redbeathe

if you have extra money you can spend you may want to do something for the patient they've never been able to do such as try a new food...

the first man i volunteered with had never eaten lobster. one day, i picked him up lunch and brought lobster, prime rib, stuffed mushrooms (all of which he had never tried). he enjoyed this meal in front of the tv while we watched his favorite show. he loved trying these foods (along with the flower i brought for his tray). he said he felt like a king.

we also used to debate sour pickles...he always said dill pickles were sour so one time i brought all kinds of pickles to his house and we had a pickle tasting...once he tried the sour pickle we were really cracking up as he agreed sour pickles were much sourer than dills...he enjoyed our pickle tasting a lot! after he died, his family bought me a ceramic pickle ornament which holds of place of honor at the top of my tree every year (i'll always remember his expression when he bit in to that sour pickle and how much we laughed together).

but truly the most important thing you can give your patient is your presence. just being there holding their hand, listening to their fears or concerns, and just letting them know you are there is by far the greatest gift you can give!

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1.Help organize family photos, sometimes children forget who all the people are in those old albums.(I have a box of pix that I never got labled)

2. Write down life memories as the patient dictates. Start by asking questions, "where did you grow up?.. did you have a pet?..favorite toy?..favorite food?"

3. Nail polish can be nice, if permitted, and gives a "lift" to the spirits,too!

4.Compile some favorite music and transfer it to tape or CD to bring along while you visit; this is especially nice if you play music that your patient knew in younger days.

5.Memories of children as they grew may be forgotten, but once written, can be bound with a ribbon and given to children to remember a parent by. We don't always tell our children how we feel, so it would be nice to have in writing.(I was so proud of Johnny when....Mary never knew how I got that dress altered for the prom....it broke my heart to see Sally go through that, but I had to be strong for her...ect), you get the idea.

Hospice is all about ending a life, and tying up loose ends. It should be a time for remembering the good things, and, if necessary, putting those things down on paper. Good luck, and thank you!

i know this is kind of an older thread, but i'm going to start volunteering in a few weeks & these are SUCH great ideas! thank you so much.

since it's been a while since this thread started, are there any more great ideas like this floating around?

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