LIHUE — A spring training will be held at Kauai Hospice for new volunteers interested in providing comfort to patients in private homes and nursing facilities, and assistance for their families. The most important requirement for hospice volunteering is a
LIHUE — A spring training will be held at Kauai Hospice for new volunteers interested in providing comfort to patients in private homes and nursing facilities, and assistance for their families.
The most important requirement for hospice volunteering is a willingness to help. Volunteers provide comfort and support to the dying and their family members. They offer companionship, grief support, and respite — short-term relief for family caregivers allowing them to take a break, run errands, nap, or rejuvenate from the challenges of ongoing patient care.
The three-day training workshop is held over two weekends in March on the 11, 12 and 18. The training is free and will take place at the Kauai Hospice Center for Compassion at 4457 Pahee Street, Lihue. Participants must attend all three session of this 18-hour training course.
The mission of Kauai Hospice is to ensure the highest quality of life possible for individuals and their families facing a life-threatening illness; to provide bereavement support to individuals, and to promote an understanding of Hospice and Palliative Care services.
“The emotional, physical, and spiritual support that volunteers provide, contributes the patient’s quality of life and eases the stress of the family’s caregiving,” said Rayne Regush, volunteer coordinator. “We deeply appreciate our volunteers, who all have a desire for helping others and have the time and willingness to make a difference in the lives of patients and their loved ones.”
Training topics will include the philosophy of hospice and end of life care; effective listening skills, death awareness exercises; sensitivity to spiritual/cultural diversity; grief and loss; confidentiality; universal precautions; and other subject matter.
Additional volunteer requirements include background checks, tuberculosis skin test screening, and a valid driver’s license and liability insurance if driving to your volunteer assignment.
Those interested in attending the training are asked to complete the Volunteer Application Form at www.kauaihospice.org and to schedule a pre-training interview by calling Regush, at 245-7277
