Hospice group looking for volunteers

In a world that is an ever-shifting landscape, one of the few constants is growing older with time.

Many people find themselves needing some kind of care as they reach a later stage in life, and sometimes that takes the form of hospice care.

According to Alabama Hospice of The Shoals, hospice is a form of compassionate and quality care for people facing a life limiting illness or injury.

The word itself dates back to the Middle Ages, meaning “a place of safe haven for travelers, pilgrims and the sick.” Today, hospice is a special program often provided in a patient’s home, designed to make the end of life experience a positive one.

Rather than trying to cure an illness, the goal of hospice is to make the patient comfortable, ease pain and other symptoms and support the family through this challenging time.

That’s where people like Susan Coke, volunteer coordinator at the Tuscumbia branch of Alabama Hospice of the Shoals, come in.

Not only does Coke make visits to different hospice patients to carry out activities and play games with them, she also coordinates volunteers for the group.

“A hospice volunteer is someone who wishes to make a difference in the life of the terminally ill by contributing directly or indirectly to the services provided by hospice care,” Coke said. “Volunteers provide emotional support and practical assistance that enhances the comfort and quality of life for patients, their families and loved ones.”

Coke said volunteers might do anything from simply sitting with a hospice patient for a few hours to give their caregiver some personal time to themselves to office administrative work to cutting patients’ hair or grass.

She said the volunteer program tends to work for people like retirees looking to give back or students looking to fill some service hours for different organizations.

“As a hospice volunteer, you may be asked to: listen and support the patient and family; read or sit with a patient for short periods of time; write letters; run errands; check on patients and family by telephone; assist with clerical tasks and support community events like educational offerings, health fairs or fundraising,” Coke said.

“Without volunteers, we could not provide the variety or the scope of services that are so urgently needed for patients and their families. For the safety of our patients and employees, all volunteers are required to complete some pre-employment testing and training is provided as part of the volunteer experience.”

Alabama Hospice of The Shoals also has a program called Veteran-to-Veteran, where veteran volunteers are asked to spend time with other veterans.

“This program aims to pair recruited veteran volunteers with veteran hospice patients. The pairing of veteran volunteers with veteran hospice patients gives the volunteers the unique ability to relate and connect with their patients by memories and enhanced by their common histories,” Coke said.

Coke said her biggest needs in volunteers currently are veterans and hairstylists (or students working to become hairstylists), though anyone looking to volunteer would be welcome.

“We serve patients across six counties: Colbert, Lauderdale, Franklin, Lawrence, Marion and Winston,” Coke said. “Most of the time it involves going to a patient’s home, or you might go to an assisted living facility or nursing home.

“It makes you feel good to be able to help someone. It’s all about bringing joy to people who are in these situations.”

Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer or who has questions can contact Coke at 256-314-1204.