LONG BRANCH – Next month, Barnabas Health Hospice and Palliative Care Center will host a training program for individuals interested in becoming hospice volunteers in Monmouth County.
The volunteer training program is designed to give participants an understanding of the needs of patients and families who are coping with advanced illness.
Program topics include Hospice History and Philosophy, Hospice Nursing, Spirituality in Hospice, Personal Death Awareness, Listening, and the Nuts and Bolts of Volunteering.
Upon completion of the program, volunteers will be connected with patients in close proximity to where they reside.
Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 9, sessions will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Monmouth Medical Center, 300 Second Ave. Programs will be held Tuesdays from Sept. 9 through Nov. 11, with the exception of Sept. 23.
“In as few as three hours a week, volunteers can make a tremendous difference in the life of a patient coping with advanced illness,” Spiro Ballas said.
“Volunteers can read to patients, hold their hand, or just spend time with them while their loved ones take a breather. They are also a resource to families, typically helping by listening to their thoughts and concerns or assisting them with small tasks,”Ballas said. When you volunteer for hospice you get back as much as you give.”
Additional information and registration for the program is available by contacting Ballas, Barnabas Health Hospice and Palliative Care Center, at 973-322-4866 or sballas@barnabashealth.org no later than one week prior to the program start date. Class size is limited.
