Hospice Volunteer

Be a Part of Our Hospice Team

Hospice relies on a team approach to care.  The patient and family are the center of the team. 
Volunteers are a vital part of the Hospice Care Team.
As a hospice volunteer, you need to:
  • Commit the time to volunteer
  • 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 and religious customs

Hospice Volunteer Opportunities

Direct Patient Care Volunteers

Visiting patients and their families at home, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, inpatient hospice units provides a friendly visit or respite for caregivers; accompany a patient to sit outside or attend a program; read aloud; listen to memories; bring a smile to someone's day.

Alternative/Complementary Care Volunteers

Art therapy, Aromatherapy, Reiki

Volunteers with a current Massage Therapy license may provide friendly touch and massage to patients and their families.

Music Therapy:  Singing or playing a musical instrument.

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, massage therapy, community job programs.

Vigil Volunteers

Help to ensure that no patient dies alone by being present at the final moments of a patient's life.

Pet Therapy Volunteers

Screened and trained pets and their volunteer owners visit patients and provide socialization, comfort, life review, etc.

Community Information & Recruitment

Speak in the community on topics related to end-of-life care, in the process recruiting volunteers.

Administrative Volunteers

Provides support in the office:  filing, preparing mailings, data entry, phone support, special projects.

Life Review Volunteers

Reminisce and/or record a patient's life stories, perhaps presenting the family with a legacy CD.

Spiritual Care Volunteers

Work with the Hospice Chaplain in addressing spiritual issues at the end of life:  meaning, faith, life review, issues related to loss, loneliness, etc.

Personal Pampering Volunteers

Trained volunteers apply lotion, polish nails and otherwise raise patient's esteem.

Hair Care:  Volunteers with a current cosmetology license may provide haircuts, shampoos and styling to patients and families.

Telephone Assurance Volunteers

Make supportive phone calls to patients and their families or to bereaved family members following a death.

Bereavement Volunteers

Visits, phone calls, support groups, memorial services and send bereavement mailings.

Reach out to our Hospice Volunteer Coordinator

I want to be a part of the Harborside Hospice Team