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Remarkable People

by Mary Odbert
Yolo Hospice (Prime Time Seniors Article, Dec 08/Jan 09)

People can be such remarkable characters and make a profound impression on us -- the very young, the very old and everyone in between. We nurture and celebrate that uniqueness, but when someone is dying we sometimes forget to look for what makes them unique and spirited individuals.  Marion Franck, Yolo Hospice volunteer, knows and celebrates their remarkable spirit; you can hear the joy in her voice when she talks about her patients.

“In the three years I’ve been volunteering, I’ve had seven patients, six of them long term,” Marion says. “I like it. When a family signs up for Hospice service early, the patient is in better shape. I can develop a nice relationship with the patient. And man do I get to know the families.”

Yolo Hospice patient care volunteers are warm-hearted, caring people who play a critical role in the Yolo Hospice team as they care for the patients and their families. Sometimes the family is too close to the patient and healthcare professionals too distant.  A volunteer can provide a compromise that is just right – a friend’s ear for patients or families to confide in and share their feelings and concerns. Marion discovered early on if she left a little longer pause after a patient stopped talking, there was often more they would say.

“Being a hospice volunteer is definitely about listening,” says Marion. “That’s how you find out how you can best help. It is also how you learn and how you find the spirit in each person.”

Marion had one patient who was nearly 100 years old, mentally sharp, but with a failing memory – though she never forgot the big stuff. She offered Marion a recipe for Chocolate Applesauce Cake that had been in her family since the 1800s. The woman thought it was a good recipe because it required no eggs. Evidently, chickens don’t naturally lay eggs as frequently when the days get shorter in winter. When the patient was young, people didn’t have easy access to a grocer so they needed recipes without eggs. Who knew?

“One patient talked to me so much about Italy that I took my next vacation there,” says Marion. “I brought back photos to show her. The trip and photos gave so much depth to my relationship with her. She was very proud of her heritage.”

Marion happily describes another patient as a non-stop talker. Her experience listening came into play because she apparently didn’t have to say much.

“I’ve taken care of patients with dementia,” says Marion. “It is a little harder to be a listener in those instances, but you still have to be aware of what pleases them. I usually bring books and photos, which seems to make them happy. Then I do the talking.”

It is an important role. A role that the Yolo Hospice clinical staff rely on to identify needs the patient won’t tell their nurse about.

“One of the biggest benefits of a volunteer is that they are not responsible for any particular task, only to spend time with the patient,” said Patty Zavala, RN, CHPN, OCN, Yolo Hospice Director Staff Development. “It means that they can listen to the patient without distraction, if that’s what seems right to them. Often the volunteer will hear about something the patient wants or needs when the patient hasn’t told us. The volunteers help us better serve the patient and their families. We value their contribution.”

Because of their significant role with patients, we ask a little more of patient care volunteers. Yolo Hospice patient care volunteers go through a 24-hour training course before they can ever help with a patient and are asked to be available an average of four hours per week.

“[Working as a volunteer with Yolo Hospice] I keep learning to do this job better, learning unexpected things and to be less afraid,” said Marion.

Not every volunteer at hospice is a patient care volunteer. Members of Friends of Yolo Hospice focus on special events, fundraising and community awareness activities. Other volunteers run errands and work in the office.

You can volunteer for Friends of Yolo Hospice by calling or emailing Candace Frawley at (530) 758-5566 or cfrawley@yolohospice.org. To volunteer with patients or in the office, please contact Nancy Bodily at (530) 758-5566 or nbodily@yolohospice.org.

 

 

 

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Quotes

Ted Skiera
"I've worked for 20+ years in cardiovascular and oncology nursing, most recently working as a nurse coordinator in cardiovascular research. My work with Yolo Hospice has enabled me to focus all of my acute clinical experiences into caring for patients, and their loved ones, during a most challenging period of their lives."
~Ted Skiera, RN