Be a Patient Buddy - Looking for Hospice Volunteers! - Toms River

It is surprising how many patients have no one visiting them. And facing end-of-life is not a time to be alone. If you have 3 hours a week to give to a stranger, or two, we’ll provide you an opportunity to fill your heart with purpose, by knowing that you are making a difference in someone else’s life. ASCEND HOSPICE welcomes your gifts of time and compassion!

Like all things worth doing, becoming a Hospice Volunteer is not easy. Regulations and best practice prescribe background and health checks and involved training; but doing these steps helps ensure that only the right people with the right intentions support our patients/families the right way.

When you are done with onboarding, you will be assigned to a situation (or more, if you want) near you, where you can befriend a patient that needs you. Your visits will stimulate the patient, support the patient and/or distract the patient, whichever they need on the day you visit.

ASCEND HOSPICE is a leader in the use of alternative modalities at the end of life, and you’ll be exposed to aromatherapy and learn how to provide a gentle hand massage in the training, as part of the tools you can use during your visits. But the main thing that you’ll be doing is visiting a lonely person, so that they are lonely no more.

Companionship Volunteers can also incorporate craft projects and music into their visits as a way to connect with the patient. And when the time comes, silence and presence are the focus of a visit, to honor the relationship you built and to be part of the initiative so No One Dies Alone. ( Ascend Hospice Volunteers who show a compassion and commitment to the mission will be invited to an online, certification training to be an End-of-Life Doula…At no cost to the Hospice Volunteer; we call it AscEND-OF-LIFE Doula Training.)

You do not have to have a medical background. You do need to be a nice person and enjoy a wide array of people, including all cultures and orientations. You also will need: time to give, transportation to get to assignments, and be at least 18 years old... And the flu shot is now required every flu season (As of a 2020 law, NJ employees/volunteers in hospitals, nursing homes, and home health agencies must be vaccinated, with the only approved exception being a valid medical reason.)

For more information contact the Volunteer Supervisor, by simply responding to this post. Conversations about exploring this special kind of care are welcomed!