During National
Volunteer Week, Horn Hospice Honors those who Give Selflessly to Others
Over
40 years ago, the U.S. hospice movement was founded by dedicated volunteers who
wanted to bring compassion and care to people at life’s end. This commitment to
volunteering among our nation’s hospices continues to be a foundation of
hospice care.
During
National Volunteer Week, April 12-18, Horn
Hospice is celebrating the many gifts of its dedicated volunteers from our
community who provide support, companionship and dignity to patients and family
caregivers facing serious and life-limiting illness.
Horn Hospice’s 13 volunteers provided 240 hours
in the past year to help Horn Hospice care for patients and families in the
community.
Hospice volunteers often serve patients and
families at the bedside but they also assist in the office, help raise
awareness, contribute to educational programs, and provide fundraising support
and more.
The National Hospice and Palliative Care
Organization reports that there are an estimated 355,000 trained hospice volunteers
providing more than 16 million hours of service to hospice programs each year.
An estimated 1.6 million patients in the U.S.
are cared for by hospice every year.
Hospice volunteers help the people they serve live
every moment of life to the fullest and enable the organizations they work with
to achieve their mission in the community. Most hospice volunteers choose to
give their time helping others because of their own experience with the
compassionate care hospice provided to a dying loved one.
It is federally mandated under Medicare that
five percent of all patient care hours be provided by trained volunteers
reflecting the vital role that volunteers play in the provision of care.
For those interested in learning more about
hospice or volunteer opportunities, please Horn Hospice at 712.364.7311.