Organizations that provide hospice care, including Eden Health Hospice, are looking for volunteers to be their best and do their best while helping patients in their final days

Paul Valencia
Clark County Today

Southwest Washington is in need of hospice volunteers.

“It’s really special to spend time with people who are at the end of their lives. I feel like I’m standing on the threshold of something really sacred with them. It’s one of the most special things I’ve ever done.”

That, according to Natalie Summerville, the volunteer coordinator for Eden Health Hospice, is just one of the benefits of working with hospice patients. 

Hospice care is available to patients nearing the end of their lives. It is so much more than just trying to comfort a patient physically. There is emotional support, as well.

That is where volunteers shine.

“Whatever it is you do best is what we are looking for,” Summerville said.

“The biggest need right now is to work directly with patients, going into their homes and doing whatever it is that someone does best,” she said. “If you are a yapper like I am, we need that. We need people who will sit and swap stories with our patients.”

Or watch a TV series or a movie with a patient. Listen to music. 

Better yet, if you are a musician, play a song for a patient.

“Someone hears a song from their childhood, their face lights up,” Summerville said. 

Massage therapists can give hand massages to patients. Many patients enjoy coloring or different types of crafts.

There are also volunteers who do light house work. Or maybe just give the primary caregiver a break for an hour or two. 

A volunteer brings the patient and the patient’s family some comfort. The patient can also inspire the volunteer.

“When someone thinks about their mortality, it makes life a little more sweet,” Summerville said. “It makes me feel more connected to the people around me, knowing we are all experiencing this mortal life together this one time. It makes me look around at myself and realize that everything is temporary, everything in this life is temporary.”

There are no monetary incentives to being a volunteer has so many benefits.

“Being a hospice volunteer is a really good way to incorporate death and dying into your life, acknowledging your mortality. We offer a really beautiful way to do that, just by spending time with our patients who are standing on the brink of life and death, who do have to face every day that their life is going to end,” Summerville said. “We all know that our life will end one day, but we don’t think about that on an everyday basis. But our hospice patients and their families do. They have to confront it every day.”

A year ago at this time, Eden Health Hospice was taking care of 95 patients in Vancouver, Longview, and in Portland. Right now, Summerville said, there are close to 200 hospice patients in Eden’s care.

To volunteer with Eden, people can contact Summerville via email. There will be a short pre-screening interview. There would also be a background check and a tuberculosis test. 

Once a volunteer is cleared through the process, the volunteer would be paired with a patient in need. Volunteers can only work four hours a week for Eden, but even volunteers who are only able to help for an hour a week are appreciated, honored. 

“Our volunteers create really cool relationships with people they wouldn’t necessarily meet in their everyday lives,” Summerville said. 

To volunteer with Eden Health Hospice, reach out to Summerville at: natalie.summerville@eden-health.com

There are many other hospice care organizations working in the region, as well. Most of them want volunteers, as well. 

“Our volunteers get to know that they have made a real difference in someone’s life at a time that is really tender,” Summerville said.