Thursday, March 12, 2009
Good Samaritan Hospice: Providing comfort
Hospice seeks volunteers to provide care to terminally ill patients.
Photo courtesy of Good Samaritan Hospice
Linda Simmons (left) and Mary Graham enjoy a birthday celebration for Graham organized by Good Samaritan Hospice staff and volunteers.
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How to help
To volunteer at Good Samaritan Hospice, call Becky Harris at (430) 776-0198 or e-mail her at bharris@goodsamhospice.org for an application.
For more information about Good Samaritan Hospice, visit goodsamhospice.com
Good Samaritan Hospice needs volunteers to help patients who have terminal illnesses and their families make their remaining time easier and more comfortable.
Good Samaritan serves the Roanoke and New River valleys by providing patient care, family support and community education. Professionals and volunteers work together to ensure that patients and families receive nursing services, counseling and spiritual care.
Volunteers visit with patients and their families between two and four hours each week, providing companionship to patients and relief for family members who need a break from caregiver responsibilities.
Currently, 60 volunteers provide care for more than 80 patients, up from the typical 70 to 80 patients, according to Becky Harris, director of volunteer services. That is why the need for volunteers has increased.
Volunteer Gordon Blake, a retired respiratory therapist, has provided companionship and comfort to six patients and their families over the past 2½ years. He fondly remembers one patient who was a wonderful conversationalist and who had traveled extensively. Listening to him recount his experiences was a thrill for Blake, who also enjoys traveling.
"Sometimes I think I get more out of it than they do," he said.
After experiencing how death is handled in a medical setting, Blake said he has an appreciation for the hospice philosophy that celebrates life in its final stages.
"It's a positive experience," he said.
Gayle Danielsen agreed. "It is a privilege to be involved with someone at the end of his or her journey," she said. "It is inspiring to see how blessed a person is to have family so involved."
Danielsen volunteered after a friend received hospice care. She said it was a beautiful experience for her friend to be able to choose the way she wanted to live her last days with her family. Her own mother receives hospice care out of state, and Danielsen knows it helps her sister to have that support.
Over the past few years, Danielsen has told stories to patients as well as reminisced with them, pored over photographs and listened to family stories.
Upon entering a patient's home one day, Danielsen said the patient's daughter told her, "We really look forward to your coming. You bring sunshine into our home."
