Direct Patient Care

Direct Patient Care: Direct Patient Care involves a Volunteer working directly with one of our patients and families. Showing up REGULARLY & ON TIME as agreed to is primary! There are MANY different ways you can spend your time while providing Direct Patient Care for Relational, Social, and Emotional support: - Hold the Patient's Hand - Read to the Patient, just hearing your voice will provide comfort, whether they respond directly or not. - Look at Family Photo albums & Wall photos of loved ones & encourage them to tell you "who they are". - Record Patient stories in a notebook, share them with the Family. They will become invaluable for the future. - Encourage the Patient to talk, ask them simple questions like "favorite color", "favorite movie star", "favorite vacation", "favorite food", etc. - Sing simple songs with them: Mary had a little lamb, Row, row, row your boat, the Star Spangled Banner (most older Patients will relate to these simple songs & might sing along). - Color with them when possible. - Play Tic, Tac, Toe with them on a piece of paper. - Be creative! Respite Care: Respite Volunteers provide "much-needed" Relief to the Caregiver, for a maximum of 2-3 Hours, allowing the Caregiver to tend to their own needs while they rest in another room or leave the home to run errands/go to lunch or dinner/etc. The volunteer becomes a companion to the patient, quietly sitting and holding a hand, reading about current events or simply listening are some of the things a respite volunteer can offer to a Caregiver. This can help avoid "Caregiver breakdown". Errands: Unexpected needs arise daily with patient families and members of our Hospice team. Delivering and picking up supplies, Use Your Talents: If you play a Musical Instrument, you could play for a Patient. Other types of Therapies are welcome for our Patients as appropriate & agreed to with the Family: - Massage Therapy - Art Therapy - Hair cuts/Styling - Pet Therapy