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Ruthmary Allison, a hospice volunteer takes a break inside the Hospice Care Center kitchen.
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — All the man wanted was a drink.
And as a hospice patient, this man was entitled to an alcoholic beverage if he wanted. But the patient had one an hour before, and the nurse wouldn’t allow him another just yet.
Hospice volunteer Ruthmary Allison walked the hallways of the Hospice Care Center, 3090 B N. 12th St., with the agitated patient. She took him to the kitchen, where the man stood at the second-floor, west-facing glass door and watched the sunset.
“He said, ‘This would be perfect if I had a Scotch and soda right now,’” Allison said.
So Allison, 64, began singing the Johnny Mathis song “Scotch and Soda.”
“Hey, that was pretty nice,” the patient told Allison, and by then he had calmed down, she said.
Allison volunteers Mondays from noon to 4 p.m. for Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado. At the Hospice Care Center, she responds to patients when they buzz for help, helps feed patients who are weak and supports the registered nurses and certified nursing assistants on staff.
She’ll sit with a patient “for comfort so they know somebody is with them,” Allison said.
She listens to “random” stories about where and what it was like for them growing up.
“I’ll ask lead questions to encourage them to share and remember their past and the good times,” Allison said.
She does not provide medical or personal care.
You don’t need medical experience to volunteer for hospice, said Sheryl Click, director of volunteer services for patient care.
“We have a whole medical team — CNAs, RNs, medical directors — who work hand-in-hand with patients’ (primary) physicians, social workers and chaplains,” Click said. “Volunteers are part of the team.”
Patient care volunteers give respite to family caregivers.
“It’s comforting to know there’s a volunteer to sit with their loved one,” Click said.
Sometimes volunteers sit and visit with the family members.
Volunteers also visit hospice patients at home, transport patients or their nondriving caregivers to doctors’ appointments or to the grocery store.
One of Allison’s patients was a woman who grew up in the town where Allison’s grandmother was born — Fowler, Colo.
“She knew my uncles,” Allison said.
With another woman, Allison talked about scripture and religious beliefs.
Primarily, it’s about “support and just caring about people,” Allison said.
Patient care is only one area where people volunteer for Hospice and Palliative Care.
Volunteers also run the downtown Heirlooms for Hospice store. Another group, called the Tanglewood Society, plant and maintain the gardens surrounding the Care Center and Cups Coffee House, which is located in front of the Care Center.
Volunteers also cut hair, provide notary services and bake birthday cakes.
In 2007, there were 712 hospice volunteers in the overall organization who gave approximately 56,000 hours. Eighty-one of those were patient care volunteers. The number of volunteers for 2008 has not yet been tallied. There are 100 people signed up to volunteer in patient care in 2009.
For more information about hospice volunteer opportunities, see the box accompanying this article.
Reach Sharon Sullivan at ssullivan@gjfreepress.com.
And as a hospice patient, this man was entitled to an alcoholic beverage if he wanted. But the patient had one an hour before, and the nurse wouldn’t allow him another just yet.
Hospice volunteer Ruthmary Allison walked the hallways of the Hospice Care Center, 3090 B N. 12th St., with the agitated patient. She took him to the kitchen, where the man stood at the second-floor, west-facing glass door and watched the sunset.
“He said, ‘This would be perfect if I had a Scotch and soda right now,’” Allison said.
So Allison, 64, began singing the Johnny Mathis song “Scotch and Soda.”
“Hey, that was pretty nice,” the patient told Allison, and by then he had calmed down, she said.
Allison volunteers Mondays from noon to 4 p.m. for Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado. At the Hospice Care Center, she responds to patients when they buzz for help, helps feed patients who are weak and supports the registered nurses and certified nursing assistants on staff.
She’ll sit with a patient “for comfort so they know somebody is with them,” Allison said.
She listens to “random” stories about where and what it was like for them growing up.
“I’ll ask lead questions to encourage them to share and remember their past and the good times,” Allison said.
She does not provide medical or personal care.
You don’t need medical experience to volunteer for hospice, said Sheryl Click, director of volunteer services for patient care.
“We have a whole medical team — CNAs, RNs, medical directors — who work hand-in-hand with patients’ (primary) physicians, social workers and chaplains,” Click said. “Volunteers are part of the team.”
Patient care volunteers give respite to family caregivers.
“It’s comforting to know there’s a volunteer to sit with their loved one,” Click said.
Sometimes volunteers sit and visit with the family members.
Volunteers also visit hospice patients at home, transport patients or their nondriving caregivers to doctors’ appointments or to the grocery store.
One of Allison’s patients was a woman who grew up in the town where Allison’s grandmother was born — Fowler, Colo.
“She knew my uncles,” Allison said.
With another woman, Allison talked about scripture and religious beliefs.
Primarily, it’s about “support and just caring about people,” Allison said.
Patient care is only one area where people volunteer for Hospice and Palliative Care.
Volunteers also run the downtown Heirlooms for Hospice store. Another group, called the Tanglewood Society, plant and maintain the gardens surrounding the Care Center and Cups Coffee House, which is located in front of the Care Center.
Volunteers also cut hair, provide notary services and bake birthday cakes.
In 2007, there were 712 hospice volunteers in the overall organization who gave approximately 56,000 hours. Eighty-one of those were patient care volunteers. The number of volunteers for 2008 has not yet been tallied. There are 100 people signed up to volunteer in patient care in 2009.
For more information about hospice volunteer opportunities, see the box accompanying this article.
Reach Sharon Sullivan at ssullivan@gjfreepress.com.
Volunteer Information Sessions Scheduled
Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado will host two volunteer information sessions: Tuesday, Jan. 13, from 5:30-6:30 p.m., and Thursday, Jan. 15, from noon until 1 p.m. Sessions will be held at the new Hospice Care Center, 3090 B North 12th St. For more information: 257-2378 or www.hospicewco.com.
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