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Volunteering for Hospice

Hospice is a specialized end of life medical care for terminal patients with six months or less to live.  Those enrolled in hospice still have life remaining, life to live and experience.  The hospice team includes physicians, nurses, counselors, social workers, caregivers, and volunteers whose goal it is to make that remaining life comfortable, meaningful and dignified.  

The physicians, nurses, counselors, and social workers each have a scheduled time to work with the patient and their family.  The caregiver, however, is on call 24/7.  To help alleviate caregiver burnout, volunteers are available to step in and assist in the home when needed. 

Simple activities—driving a patient to an appointment, keeping the patient company, helping with mealtime—all work to give the caregiver support and a short respite from the ongoing responsibilities that dominate hospice care.  Through these acts of kindness, a volunteer can assure the patient of their value and bring positivity to the home. 

Some volunteers prefer supporting roles that are not in direct contact with patients.  These can find unlimited places to help make hospice care more peaceful and productive.  If a volunteer has special skills in any area—admin, computer tech, maintenance, gardening—they can offer time at the hospice clinic assisting in those areas. 

Other volunteers are drawn to domestic helps—cleaning, pet sitting, grocery shopping—which serve to lighten the load for all involved in the care of the terminally ill.  Seeing the amount of effort put forth by volunteers to enhance the lives of these patients often inspires friends and neighbors to participate instead of pulling back.

Every life has value.  Agreeing with that statement is not enough.  Putting action to those words proves the reality of their meaning: life is worth living at all stages of the human experience. 

When a person chooses to volunteer for hospice, they are making a solid commitment to promote the beauty of life lived to the fullest regardless of its length.  Their work is priceless to the medical team, invaluable to the caregiver, and irreplaceable to the patient and their family.  Time spent in service brings immeasurable rewards to anyone who volunteers for hospice.

Gifted Hearts Hospice and Palliative Care in Seguin, TX, is a fully staffed facility available to patients who call South Central Texas their home.  It is nestled in the beautiful New Braunfels area as the best hospice near San Antonio, Texas.  It offers palliative care for patients of any age in any stage of illness.  It also offers all four levels of hospice care and maintains its motto: “Live until you Leave.”