Thursday, June 20, 2013
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Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice

207.777.7740 • 1.800.482.7412

Hospice Volunteers

Hospice Volunteers are compassionate individuals who support terminally-ill patients in the home setting, nursing facilities, and at the Hospice House. Hospice volunteers provide companionship to patients, respite for caregivers, and help with special needs like grocery shopping, light housekeeping, medication pick-up, and transportation when there are no other transportation services available. Volunteers are matched with patients based on location and other special requests from the patient/family such as male/female, French speaking, cribbage player, etc.

Volunteers have assisted with special end of life requests to go fishing one last time, send cards/letters to family and friends, put together scrapbooks or record an audio CD about their life.

Training

The Hospice Training is a comprehensive training designed to prepare new volunteers for their role in working with patients who are terminally ill and their families. The overall training is 20-hours and meets 2 times per week for 3-4 hours.

Speakers are employees of Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice and cover the following topics:
  • Introduction to Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice
  • History and Philosophy of Hospice
  • Adult Disease Process
  • Signs and Symptoms of Approaching Death
  • Vigil
  • The Art of Listening
  • The Hospice Team
  • Family Dynamics
  • Finding Meaning at the End of Life
  • Roles of Volunteers
  • Insights/Experiences from Volunteers
  • Boundaries of the Volunteer Role
  • Nuts and Bolts of Volunteering  - all you need to know to begin as a Hospice Volunteer

For the upcoming training schedule click on the Training Calendar.

Testimonial

Evelyn Bodemer, Hospice Volunteer from Andover, has been volunteering for almost 6 years. Evelyn's parents both died from cancer when she was out of state raising a young family. She was unable to be there as she had wished. Later when she had the time, she decided to help other people where she had missed out on doing this for her parents. Evelyn said, "Volunteering is very rewarding. You feel good when you are helping someone else. People will ask me how I can do this type of work, and I simply say it makes me feel good, and I like being there for people. I have found that it can be an adventure, as you never know what is going to happen."

Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice

15 Strawberry Avenue, Lewiston, Maine 04240 • 207.777.7740 • 1.800.482.7412 • DevelopmentOffice@ahch.org
Copyright 2010 AHCH and Pinnacle IT