OUR DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS

Our volunteers are an integral part of providing quality care to our patients, their caregivers, and their families. Without their “helping hands”, we would not be able to provide the level of care to our patients for which we are renown. Athena Home Health & Hospice has a dedicated force of caring individuals that have committed their time to improve the quality of life for our patients.

Volunteers are an invaluable part of our team, whether you can give four hours a month or four hours a day, we can use your help!

All volunteers receive extensive training in providing comfort and support to families facing end-of-life issues. Volunteers will be trained in the following areas: hospice, ways to improve communication, active listening, identifying and respecting cultural differences, spirituality, and grief and the healing process.

Our volunteers are deeply committed to the Hospice Philosophy and may assist with companionship, caregiver relief, meal preparation, listening, and complementary therapies. Volunteers are here to help and support the families through this difficult time by providing an atmosphere of warmth and understanding during and after death, sharing their special skills, and by just being a friend and confidant.

Our volunteers are here to assist patients and their families in a variety of ways, including:

• Reading
• Sitting quietly with a patient
• Administrative work in the Hospice office
• Assistance with errands, transportation, and household chores

The most valuable skill a volunteer can possess in order to improve the quality of life for both patients and their families is the ability to be a compassionate presence.

Volunteers in hospice find it personally gratifying, intellectually stimulating, and emotionally meaningful to assist those in need at a critical point in their lives. Many volunteers were introduced to hospice through the death of one of their own loved ones and understand the value of hospice. Helping the terminally ill at Athena Home Health & Hospice is not about dying, but living, and our volunteers are constantly reminded of that philosophy through their work.

There are more than 468,000 hospice volunteers at work throughout the U.S. and each one is essential to continuing the hospice philosophy of care which recognizes that dying is just as much a personal event as it is a medical one. These volunteers are important members of an interdisciplinary team working to “de-institutionalize” the dying experience and provide a humane system of care for the dying and their families.

Hospice volunteers are motivated by the desire to give something back and soon find that the spiritual and emotional rewards they receive far outweigh the time and care they contribute.

Are you interested in giving back and helping to improve the quality of life for dying patients and their families? There is a place for you at Athena Home Health & Hospice.

To ensure that all volunteers are equipped for the challenge of working with the dying, Athena Home Health & Hospice requires that volunteers complete an extensive orientation and training sessions, as well as submit to a routine background check. It’s important that volunteers understand the history of Athena Home Health & Hospice and are aware of the specific ways their local hospices work to serve the community. Depending on the area of service, additional training may be available or necessary.

To find a hospice near you or for more information, contact us at:

Call today to learn more about your place on the hospice team. You can make a difference!