Published on January 29, 2010

Hospice Volunteer Training Offered

Ames , Iowa - HOMEWARD Hospice and the Israel Family Hospice House of Mary Greeley Medical Center will offer hospice volunteer training sessions, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 20 and Saturday, Feb. 27. Classes will meet from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day at Mary Greeley Medical Center South Auditorium. Lunch will be provided.

Preregistration and attendance at both training sessions is required. All volunteers must complete an application and interview before the training sessions.

Volunteering for hospice is a rewarding experience. As a hospice volunteer, you will be trained by team members on the hospice concept and philosophy, bereavement, medical aspects of hospice care, safe lifting and transferring, diversity in healthcare, funeral planning, confidentiality, documentation, dietary needs of hospice patients, and much more.

Trained volunteers will work with patients and families in their homes, at nursing facilities and at the Israel Family Hospice House. To become a volunteer, an individual must be at least 18 years of age, pass criminal background checks, and should have a desire to listen, care and comfort others.

Family members who have recently experienced a loss are encouraged to wait one year before volunteering.

Volunteers are needed in Story, Boone, Hamilton, Greene, Polk, Marshall, Dallas, Guthrie, Jasper, Webster, Wright, Franklin, Grundy and Hardin counties.

Interested volunteers may complete an online application.   For more information, visit our website, or contact volunteer services, 515-239-2158, or Judy Wiese, hospice volunteer coordinator, 515-956-6043.

For more information about Mary Greeley Medical Center, visit www.mgmc.org or call 515-239-2011.