In 2020, one in six Americans will be an older adult. Younger volunteers are increasingly needed to meet the needs of this rapidly growing population. My earliest memory of feeding a nursing home patient was not after I became an adult hospice volunteer. It was during my high school days when I joined a school club that encouraged me to make a positive difference in people's lives through service. Many times long-lasting seeds for service are sown with the young. I actually started volunteering long before high school. Fortunately, I had opportunities to see service encouraged and modeled.

High school and college healthcare volunteers can benefit greatly in win-win partnerships that serve older adults. They often learn about career choices they may not have considered. On college resumes, potential employers look for service as an indication of good character. Some hospices and other healthcare facilities have teenage and young adult volunteers doing the following assignments:

http://hospiceandnursinghomes.blogspot.com/2015/04/young-volunteers-needed-for-older.html

Frances Shani Parker

http://www.francesshaniparker.com/

Death rattle sounds refer to the rattle-like breathing noises caused by respiratory tract secretions during the final days of life. The following blog post addresses myths regarding this experience, a recording of actual death rattle sounds, and the impact on hospice caregivers and others:

http://hospiceandnursinghomes.blogspot.com/2013/09/death-rattle-sounds-myths-and-facts.html

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes

http://www.francesshaniparker.com/ 

Being a great hospice volunteer can be a powerful and rewarding experience. Consider using these ten steps from Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog by Frances Shani Parker as a guide on your hospice service journey. The first step is a reminder to remember why you serve.

1) Remember why you serve.

There’s a reason you feel compelled to enhance lives of the terminally ill. Cherish that inspiration. Move forward committed to an amazing and rewarding healthcare adventure.

(Continue reading here for all ten steps.)

How do hospice volunteers learn about hospice volunteer opportunities?

What motivates them to start volunteering?

Why do they continue to volunteer?

These are open-ended questions that researchers at the University of Utah Department of Communication asked 351 hospice volunteers from 3 states. The following are the research findings:

http://hospiceandnursinghomes.blogspot.com/2009/10/hospice-volunteer-research-how-what-why.html



Frances Shani Parker, Author
"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”

“Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog”

Local Volunteer and Writer Seeks to Spread the Truth About Hospice

Anne Osmer Reporting

Detroiter Frances Shani Parker didn’t plan on becoming a hospice volunteer, but despite a self-described “lack of interest in the medical field,” that’s what ended up happening.

Parker’s work as Cass Corridor school principal kept her more than busy when a friend, Jake, became sick with AIDS more than ten years ago. Parker helped shepherd her friend from life into death, aiding with his direct care and assisting his sister with the details of dying that, Parker reminds us, so many of us ignore until it’s too late.

She then found herself in another, similar situation, helping another person to die.

“I was wondering why people were coming into my life like this,” said Parker.

Read entire article here.


Frances Shani Parker, Author
"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”
"Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog"