Volunteers sought to provide comfort, care at Ames Family Hospice House

Ames Family Hospice House on Crocker Road in Westlake.

Would you like to volunteer close to home where you can make a meaningful difference to families in the community? Hospice of the Western Reserve, a nonprofit organization that helps families through one of life’s most difficult times, is seeking caring people who want to give back to others by becoming hands-on care volunteers. New volunteers are needed to join the hospice team to provide compassionate support to patients and families at Ames Family Hospice House in Westlake.

“Our hands-on care volunteers provide comfort, companionship and dignity at a time when they are most needed,” explained Patti Hanrahan, Volunteer Service Manager at Ames Family Hospice House. “It’s very fulfilling work. They’ll work side by side with our Hospice Nursing Assistants to assist with bathing, transferring and repositioning, personal care, oral hygiene and feeding. They may also spend time with patients to provide much-needed respite breaks for their family caregivers.”

Hanrahan said all volunteers-in-training first attend introductory classes where they learn more about Hospice of the Western Reserve, its services, its mission in the community and the important role they will be playing as part of the volunteer team. Applicants have a choice of two convenient scheduling options: attendance at either a series of weekday sessions or two full-day Saturday sessions. Advance registration is required. Following the classes, a four-hour self-study module is completed at home.

“We mentor and provide guidance every step of the way,” Hanrahan said. “We want our volunteers to feel 100 percent comfortable and well-prepared so we’ve built in plenty of time for shadowing and observing experienced volunteers and clinical team members before they actually begin assisting with any care.”

“Our volunteers describe their work as a labor of love,” she added. “They play an integral role in helping us maintain the highest levels of care and support for our patients and their families. At the end of the day, they have the satisfaction of knowing they have made a tremendous difference in the lives of others.”

The next west side introductory training session will be held Saturdays, Sept. 22 and 29, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Lorain County Community College. For more information or to register, call the Volunteer Services Team at 216-255-9090. A full schedule of upcoming volunteer training classes can be found on the website: hospicewr.org/volunteer.

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Volume 10, Issue 16, Posted 8:47 AM, 08.21.2018