Hospice Volunteering: An Audio Documentary

[Frances Shani Parker]

“Hospice Chronicles: Care for the Patient and Family” is an audio documentary produced by Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister of Long Haul Productions. It follows two southwest Michigan hospice volunteers who have completed their volunteer training and are visiting their first patients.Volunteer Joe Haase essentially provides respite (relief) for caregiver Betty Bennett, whose husband Preston has Parkinson’s disease and early-stage dementia. Respite care gives her time away from home to do errands and take a break from the pressures of caregiving. Betty sounds overwhelmed with meeting Preston’s needs, but she continues to keep him at home because she promised him she would.In the second documentary scenario, volunteer Betty Elsas visits patient Mamie Matthews, who is 97 years old and slowly deteriorating. Because Betty has a healthcare background, she mentions how visiting a patient “cold,” with little information, puts her at a disadvantage.A hospice volunteer myself, I think new hospice volunteers would find these conversations helpful, especially during a discussion with seasoned volunteers who have residential and nursing home experience. This audio documentary can be heard atwww.npr.org “Hospice Chronicles: Care for the Patient and Family.”Frances Shani Parker