Share your compassion and talents with patients and their families in your community
RUTLAND, VT (January 23, 2020) – At the VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region, volunteers play a critical role in enhancing the end-of-life experiences of people facing serious illness and their families. Volunteers represent all life experiences and are drawn to hospice for a variety of reasons, but the defining characteristics that unite them are compassion and the desire to help others. Their many skills are matched to important tasks within our mission.
Does this sound like you?
The Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice of the Southwest Region provides training for those interested in becoming hospice volunteers. Training will be held on Friday, April 3rd from 4-8pm and Saturday, April 4 from 8am-4pm at the Rutland office at 7 Albert Cree Drive. Training is free and open to individuals 16 years of age and older. Pre-registration is required. Volunteers need to pass a background check. No previous hospice and health care experience is required.
Once training is complete, assignments and schedules are tailored to the volunteer’s geographic and time commitment preferences.
Training Topics include:
- Understanding the Hospice philosophy of care
- Knowing boundaries when interacting with patients and families
- Communicating with patients and families
- Understanding basic health and safety precautions
- Understanding patient confidentiality
The Benefit of Becoming a Hospice Volunteer
While our volunteers make a tremendous impact on the lives of our patients, families and staff, we hear time and again that they, too, benefit from their hospice experiences. Among the things they mention are:
- Increased appreciation for living life in the moment and defining what is really important
- Greater knowledge and more inner peace about the end-of-life experience
- Greater insight about diversity and the different perspectives among cultures
- Heightened sense of fulfillment and pride because of their contributions to patients and families and to the VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region.
For more information or to enroll call John at 802.770.1683 or email at john.campbell@vnahsr.org
About the VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region
Founded in Rutland, Vermont, the VNAHSR has grown to include locations throughout Bennington and Rutland Counties. VNAHSR is a non-profit, Medicare-certified home health and hospice agency delivering a wide range of advanced medical care with compassion, dependability, and expertise to people of all ages.
With office locations in Bennington, Dorset, Manchester, and Rutland, we have over 300 trusted health professionals and caregivers committed to providing exceptional care to patients and families.
Proud of our national reputation for quality care, VNAHSR is highly rated for Quality of Patient Care and Patient Satisfaction from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and is recognized as one of the nation’s top performing home health agencies by HomeCare Elite, a market-leading review that identifies top Medicare-certified agencies.
