Hospice Companion Volunteer (Lancaster County)

Companion Volunteers - Amedisys Hospice of Lancaster seeks caring, compassionate individuals who would be willing to spend a few hours a month visiting our terminally ill patients and their families. Volunteers spend sacred time together with patients and families simply by accompanying them during their final journey. Companions offer patients healing by practicing a calming presence, deep compassion, and generous listening. Volunteers play an important role in providing social support and decreasing isolation that can so often occur for the terminally ill.

Volunteers are provided free training, a training certificate, and can work flexible hours that suit their individual schedules. Volunteer training blends ancient wisdom with contemporary practices.

Skills:

• Interpersonal Skills: Volunteers need to be able to fit into any mode: engage in conversations from the superficial to the spiritually profound, depending on the day. Also need to be comfortable with silence.

Requirements:

• Be able to provide own transportation.
• Complete volunteer training and orientation.
• Complete background check (free)
• 1 Step Blood / 2 Step PPD-4 Tuberculosis tests (free)
• Out of respect for the grieving process, if you are a surviving family member, we encourage you to wait a minimum of 13 months following the patient's death to serve as a direct care volunteer or in public relations activities.