My life in retirement is busy and satisfying. I have friends and various activities that fill each day. Lunch. Book group. Writing group. Card parties. Museum visits. But I wanted to do more. Something that mattered. I decided to volunteer.
The hospice near my home has a volunteer program and only required two hours a week. After an extensive orientation and shadowing another volunteer twice I was on the schedule. Each week on Sunday I spend two hours in another world. My busy life slows down and becomes quiet.
The hospice has eighteen beds. All these patients have a terminal, untreatable illness and a short life expectancy. Many patients have various cancer diagnoses and respiratory diseases. Most are elderly but then there is the forty-year-old with liver failure and the thirty-year-old with congenital heart disease. The average length of stay is six days.
Some are respite patients which is a Medicare benefit so that a home hospice caregiver can have an up to five-day break. Or a respite patient also may have medication concerns and admitted for stabilization. Acute means they are actively dying. Some rooms are restricted due to covid or other medical issues.
There are two nurse’s stations one covering six rooms and another covering twelve rooms. The first thing I do is check the white board which tells me the number of patients and their status.
Once I have my list, I go to the smaller wing with six rooms and look in the volunteer book. I use a prepared sheet to write down details that will be helpful such as age, date of admission, diagnosis and name the patent prefers to be called. Then I look at past notes to determine the patient’s condition and possible reception to a visit.
With this information in hand, I then approach the nurse on duty and ask if there are any patients she feels need to be seen, not seen or any other helpful information. Then I go down the hall, noting the different colored ceiling lights that tell me if anyone is in the room such as doctor, nurse, chaplain, social work, nursing assistant or volunteer.
A purple light indicates the patient is deceased, awaiting pickup by the funeral home. When the transfer begins, bells are rung and all staff stop work and stand quietly as the body is moved to the exit. The body is covered with a blanket chosen according to the wishes of the patient, usually indicating religious affiliation. Sometimes family and staff follow the body to the door.
The goal of a volunteer is to provide comfort and care. This could be as simple as getting fresh water or fluffing a pillow. I also offer to talk to or sit with them. I enter the room and say I’m a volunteer and ask if they need anything or generally how they are.
With a sleeping or unresponsive patient, I will enter the room and stand nearby to determine if they are comfortable. Sometimes they realize my presence and may respond. I quickly determine if they want company or not. If not, I leave.
The same occurs with responsive patients. Many welcome a few minutes of conversation. Others are tired. I’ve spent anywhere from three to forty minutes with a patient depending on their needs. As covered in the training, the conversation focuses on the patient. Whatever topic comes up, we remain neutral.
I recall a long conversation with an articulate, educated man. Things were going well until he informed me that Anthony Fauci and the Chinese were in cahoots about the corona virus and Paul Harvey had predicted it all. My only response was to shake my head and comment that this was interesting. We then went on to other subjects.
The visits that seem most productive are when family members or friends are visiting; whether the patient is responsive or not a short conversation is very appreciated. This helps them pass the time. Family members and caregivers are pleased and relieved their loved one is in a safe place where they are cared for. I report to the nurse any issues they need to be aware of.
Once these patients have been seen I go back to the volunteer book and enter my notes. Here I write general comments and details that might be helpful to the next volunteer. Once that is done, I go to the larger wing and repeat the same activities for those twelve rooms.
The hospice receives donated flowers from weddings, funerals and other community events that are rearranged into small vases by an assigned volunteer. If I have time left, I can check rooms for fresh flowers. I also make sure patient and family have fresh water or other beverages.
When my two hours are finished, I sign out on my time sheet and leave. It’s now back to my busy life. I find myself thinking about hospice throughout the week and wonder how these patients and families are managing.
I generally will see all new patients the next week and that’s a little eerie. It’s a reminder of how truly unimportant the stresses or conflicts of my life really are. What I do each week seems so small. Small to me but important to these patients and families. I’m reminded how fleeting life can be and how important it is to appreciate what I have. This volunteer activity puts everything in perspective.
A Million Little Memoirs 