Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Your local hospice needs you.
As a volunteer, that is.
Samaritan Evergreen Hospice has three volunteers from Sweet Home, but it is seeking more before its next training opportunity, beginning this month.
Volunteers are an important part of hospice services provided to patients as they face the final days of terminal illnesses. Volunteers provide respite for employees and compassion for patients.
“I’m looking for people in East Linn County,” Evergreen Volunteer Coordinator Karen McLain said. “Half of the people that we serve are outside the Albany area.”
That includes Lebanon, Sweet Home, Brownsville, Jefferson and other communities in the county.
Out of 30 volunteers throughout the county, eight are from East Linn County, McLain said. They are dealing with 70 hospice patients countywide, recently running slightly above their average of 65 patients.
“We get by with the people we have, but some of them are carrying two patients at a time,” McLain said. She said that while some prefer two patients at a time, others really need to have only one at a time.
Volunteers also go on vacation or get sick, McLain said, and Evergreen Hospice could use people to cover for those times.
Vivian Chelstad is one of Sweet Home’s three volunteers. She has been a hospice volunteer for about 12 years.
“I did my initial training in California when we lived there,” Chelstad said. “Then I worked in it in Juneau (Alaska) for about 10 years.”
After moving to Sweet Home, she took 10 years off from hospice work while she traveled back and forth to California to care for her sister.
She began volunteering for Evergreen Hospice in December. Her first client was a resident at Wiley Creek Community. She is currently taking care of two patients in Lebanon.
Chelstad mainly provides respite for caregivers of patients who do not have family nearby to help.
“I go when it works out for them and me routinely on Wednesdays,” Chelstad said. “I think it’s important, and there was only one other person in Sweet Home doing that. I think it’s really important for families and caregivers to have a break.”
It’s important to provide comfort to clients, just to be there, Chelstad said, and being a retired nurse, she has the time. Working as a hospice volunteer also helps her keep enough hours to remain a licensed nurse.
“You feel like you’re really a value and can help the family and the person in need too,” Chelstad said.
McLain said finding more volunteers is a challenge. Ideally, she would like to be able to match volunteers up with clients based on what they have in common.
With a connection, such as a similar career, the volunteer and client can find a connection, McLain said. As clients near the end of their life, many find it important to share stories from their lives, a “life review,” and that connection can help.
McLain would like to recruit more male volunteers. Of her volunteers, two are male. Of clients, one-third are male. Ideally, she said, she should have 10 male volunteers.
It is not critical, she said, but it is common for older men to feel more comfortable in the company of men.
“And sometimes, we like to ask for handyman work,” McLain said.
“The hospice movement in generally is getting more publicity, and people are realizing it’s an available service,” McLain said, and both insurance and Medicare will pay for hospice services.
“Hospice is a concept of care that supports peoples’ choices for end-of-life treatment, a choice for many that involves remaining at home,” McLain said. “Care provided in the home allows families to be together when they need it most, sharing the final days in peace and comfort.
“This concept of care isn’t only about relieving pain and providing comfort. It’s also about helping patients make the most of their remaining days.”
To qualify for hospice care, patients must forego curative treatment and be certified by a physician as having six months or less to live. Patients can continue service after the end of the initial six months based on their doctor re-certifying that the patient is terminally ill.
The hospice treats patients with cancer, congestive heart failure, chronic lung disease, Alzheimer’s and AIDS, among others.
Care is available 24 hours per day by a hospice team.
The nurses focus on controlling pain and making the patient comfortable. All medication and medical equipment needed to treat the hospice diagnosis is provided.
Social workers help prepare patients and their families for the end of life emotionally as well as practically. They may help with funeral arrangements or in securing veterans’ benefits.
Home health aides take care of patients’ personal needs.
Chaplains provide non-denominational spiritual counseling.
Hospice services also include music and massage therapy and bereavement counseling for the families for 13 months after a patient’s death.
The volunteers do many things, including giving respite to caregivers and visiting patients, shopping and even some cooking.
Becoming a volunteer involves training. Evergreen Hospice holds classes twice a year, in the spring and fall. Its next class begins on Sept. 19. The class meets for two and a half hourse once a week for seven weeks and covers a wide range of material that touches on all aspects of patient care.
After training, the volunteer candidate fills out an application, completes some other paperwork and completes an interview; then McLain makes an assignment. Volunteers are asked for two to four hours per week and a year’s service.
“Some of our volunteers have been with us for 20 years,” McLain said. “It is such an important job, and we do our best to let each volunteer know how much they are appreciated.”