volunteer

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BECOME A HOSPICE VOLUNTEER

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Volunteers are an integral part of our hospice team, filling roles that range from direct contact with patients in their homes to providing administrative support in the office. Volunteers also participate in bereavement and patient recognition programs. Supporting patients and families at the end of life can be gratifying and emotionally meaningful.

 

When hospice became part of the Medicare benefit in 1982, written into the law was the requirement that community volunteers had to provide a minimum of 5 percent of total patient care hours. It is one of the things that makes hospice care special and unique in healthcare, a nod to the early history of hospice and the volunteers who ran them.

 

To volunteer, or learn more, email volunteer@losrobleshc.org or call us at 310-782-1177.

Additional Volunteer Information

Does Los Robles Healthcare provide training for volunteers?

Yes. Every volunteer receives free and comprehensive training before being assigned a volunteer job. They learn hospice philosophy, caring for the terminally ill, grief & loss education, health & safety precautions and more. They talk about what kinds of volunteering they are interested in and what talents the volunteer coordinator sees in them. Volunteers work with a clinical team of a doctor, nurse, aide, chaplain and social worker. Because they spend time with the patient, volunteers who provide direct patient care can often give the team valuable feedback about issues that arise during their visits.



What do hospice volunteers do?

There are a variety of roles. Los Robles Healthcare offers hospice volunteer opportunities that allow you to choose a role in which you feel comfortable and fulfilled. Opportunities may include: Administrative Volunteers Provide support in the office: filing, preparing mailings, computer input, answering the phones, special projects. Bereavement Volunteers Visits, phone calls, support groups, memorial services and send bereavement mailings. Direct Patient Care Volunteers Visit patients and families at home, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, inpatient hospice units. Pay a friendly visit; relieve a family caregiver for an afternoon out; accompany a patient to the beauty salon, grocery store or a social event; read aloud; listen to memories; walk the dog; be the high point of someone’s day. Life Review Volunteers Reminisce and/or record a patient’s life stories, perhaps presenting the family with a legacy flash drive or book. 11th-Hour Volunteers Help ensure that no patient dies alone by being present at the final stages of a patient’s life. Student Intern Volunteers Meet educational requirements for on-the-job experience while providing care to patients and families. Examples: social work, counseling, chaplaincy, nursing, nursing assistants, physician assistants, business schools, community job programs. Music Enrichment Volunteers Singing or playing an instrument for a patient / family or at a facility. Art Enrichment Volunteers Patients and families explore their creative side and express their feelings through the visual arts.



Is Hospice volunteering for me?

Hospice volunteers need to know that hospice work takes its toll. You become friends with people who are going to die, and with the people who love them. You must be able to sit quietly, take a back seat to the events taking place around you, be a calming presence when that is called for. You need to be a guest, an observer, a facilitator. As a hospice volunteer, you need to:

  • Commit the time to volunteer orientation
  • Be dependable
  • Be patient
  • Be a listener, and comfortable in silence
  • Know your strengths, your limits, and when to say no
  • Be non-judgmental
  • Accept that needs can be physical, emotional and/or spiritual
  • Respect all beliefs, all religious customs and all who lack them