Our Way of Caring: Vantage Hospice Podcast [Episode 5]: The Vital Role of Volunteers in Hospice Care in Houston, Texas

In this episode of the Vantage Hospice podcast, we sit down with Angelica, the volunteer coordinator, to discuss the integral role of volunteers in the hospice community. Angelica shares her journey from a hospice volunteer to her current role, emphasizing the importance of volunteer work and detailing the various opportunities available, including direct and indirect support for patients and their families. She also elaborates on CMS's 5% volunteer requirement, the impact of volunteers on patient care, and stories of meaningful connections. Listeners will gain insights into how to become a volunteer, the types of activities involved, and the profound effect volunteerism has on both the patients and the volunteers themselves.

00:00 Introduction to Vantage Hospice Podcast

00:13 Meet Angelica: Volunteer Coordinator

00:57 Angelica's Journey into Hospice Care

01:41 Understanding the 5% Volunteer Requirement

03:10 Roles and Opportunities for Volunteers

04:07 Direct Volunteer Activities

06:52 Indirect Volunteer Activities

07:36 Becoming a Volunteer: Process and Requirements

11:08 Heartwarming Volunteer Stories

13:04 Caregiver Relief and Support

14:55 Special Talents and Community Involvement

17:31 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Vantage Hospice & Palliative Care

Our Mission

Vantage Hospice, LLC is dedicated to providing individualized hospice care with services specially tailored to the physical, social, psychological and spiritual needs of patients with life limiting illness, their families and the community, by delivering high quality and compassionate care.

We strive to create a culture dedicated to meeting the needs of our patients, families and employees based on the principles of dignity, respect and compassion.

Hospice recognizes dying as part of the normal process of living and focuses on maintaining the quality of remaining life. It affirms life and neither hastens nor postpones death through a multidisciplinary team approach. Hospice is not a place. It is philosophy.

Transcript

0:00

Welcome back to our Vantage Hospice podcast. Today we have with us Ms. Angelica who's our volunteer coordinator. So we are going to learn a little bit about the volunteer program, kind of the requirements, the background and why it's important hospice. Tell us a little about yourself. Yeah. Like she said, I'm the volunteer coordinator. I've been in the hospice industry, I think about four years I started off as a hospice volunteer at another agency during my time at Sam Houston, and then that kind of progressed into an internship for the volunteer coordinator. And then I graduated in 2022 and I was present at this wonderful opportunity to come here to Vantage and get the volunteer program back up and running from COVID times after they were closed for some time. And it's been great. It's been a great experience. I love what I do. It's a little bit of everything. I get to work with volunteers, but I still get to work with patients and their families and even the community. So it's a great role. Awesome. So what is it about hospice that you love or that drew you to hospice? Really it all started I want to say when my grandma was diagnosed with cancer. It kind of went downhill pretty fast. And that was really when I first got introduced to hospice. I didn't know too much about it. We really just utilized the nursing staff and aid. We didn't have to use volunteers due to our family size and always having somebody around. But it got me thinking, not every family is blessed to have the opportunity when it comes to having people around and having those resources. So I thought, why not give it a shot? And it's been great. I enjoy it. I love being able to be there for people at this stage of their life. And provide resources to them and their family. Awesome. Yeah. So, to talk a little bit about the 5 percent requirement. There is a 5% regulatory guideline that all hospitals. It's a CMS standard that was actually written into the program in 1982 when it was originally created. So the CMS has regulated that 5 percent of our working hours are patient care hours 5 so it's a cost savings measure for the hospice, but it's again, it's a requirement from CMS. So, that's pretty much the 5 percent rule. And as Angellica just told me earlier today, earlier in the beginning, it was before it became a benefit, the staff staff of the hospice were actually volunteers, which I did not realize. Yeah. It started off as they were volunteers, and then eventually it kind of, Progress into this whole agency. And then, hospice took off and I feel ever since then hospice has been a thing and it still continues to be a thing and in people's lives. And it continues to grow. There's a lot of people who still aren't aware of hospice, their goals and resources, and so we're just here to spread the word. So, volunteers obviously are vitally important and for CMS, our governing body or accrediting body, actually, they believe that as well. They believe in it so much that they put it into the conditions of participation and every hospice that is receiving any Medicare funding has to have this 5%. So that's, it's really a testament to how important, Oh, yes. Volunteers are to to the hospice movement. Yeah. Yeah. And volunteers can do anything. Here at Vantage, we have wonderful opportunities when it comes to being a volunteer. We kind of separate it into direct and indirect when it comes to direct opportunities that really involved, being involved with patients and their families, providing companionship. You can do caregiver relief. You can volunteer at facilities, help out the community, do marketing. When it comes to indirect opportunities that would involve not having face to face contact with patients. And so you're still making a difference in the background. So that might include like office tasks, administrative recruitment for the volunteer team to always spread the word and, get our resources out there. And even now here at Vantage, we have a wonderful flower program that is involved with we get wonderful flower donations from florists. This is a good opportunity for us to be able to share flowers with our families and our patients and it's a great opportunity. Awesome. Let's go back to the direct and indirect, mainly the direct because I know a lot, I mean if I was not an experienced healthcare provider I may be nervous wanting to go and sit with or be with a hospice patient. So. What type of things do they do direct that? They're not going to, you're not going to be lifting a patient or turning a patient or changing a patient or anything along those lines. So what type of stuff do they do? Yeah just to set the record. So of course, a volunteer cannot do anything licensed. Staff would do. So, anything that a nurse or CNA would do, you're legally not able to do that. So this would pretty much include providing companionship, like I mentioned, so, and I, an example would be, you have a patient at a facility maybe the social worker or chaplain felt that this patient could really benefit for some social visits. For example, let's say the patient might have an injury and they're not able to attend the, activities that the facility might offer. So, What they'll do is they'll put in an order for a volunteer. I will reach out to see if there's any volunteers in that area. I will assign a volunteer to that patient and I'll meet with you for the first time and then we'll kind of introduce ourselves to the patient and I'll just kind of guide you through that process. You would provide companionship. So, you might want to watch TV with the patient. For example, I have patients who like watching their soap opera. Oh, yes. And I'm very big on that. So you've had a few volunteers who might visit, like a, on a Tuesday at 11 a. m. And that's when the soaps come on and they'll watch that for an hour or two. Bingo, games, coloring, or really just sitting down and talking to patients. A conversation goes a long way. For example, I think a couple weeks ago, I was introducing a volunteer to a patient and we were in the dining area and In that moment, we were talking and I guess, our voices kind of carry, and that time you don't really realize, but as we were saying goodbyes to our patient, one of the other residents at the facility who was in the dining area, the volunteer walking away and she thanked us for visiting, even though we didn't interact with her. She was just happy to listen to the conversation we were having. We're all laughing. And so I guess for her to see that, even then made a difference. Oh, absolutely. I think, especially at this time of year, it is, Close to the holidays. And being present and being able to be there, maybe read or sing Christmas carols or whatever type of interactions that we can think of that will help brighten someone's day. Because nursing homes can be kind of lonely sometimes. Yes, most definitely. If you don't get that interaction from your family at a facility, maybe you have family that live outside the state or don't live in the city, can't visit as often. The patients might kind of see the same face every day, whether it's a staff at the facility, whether it's a staff that are assigned through hospice. Just a new face, goes a long way. It makes such a big difference. Oh, absolutely. So indirect I think there are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes that people may not understand. There's and so, so you know, And the reason I love that is because it's like endless filing. There's labels. I have to be printed. There's a bereavement program and mailings that have to go out. So there's a lot of opportunities for you. If you don't want to be, if you don't feel comfortable, being one on one with a patient. It's a really great opportunity, and again, it's not, I know that volunteering, a lot of people think that it's like for. So if you've got a high school student or a college student that's looking to get some extra, that need volunteer hours, we are always looking for those people to come in and help it again. You don't have to do patient care if you don't want to, or be involved with the patient. So how do you become a volunteer if you want to become one? So our volunteers go through the same exact process as our employees. So this would include so you could reach out to me through my email. We also have postings on volunteer match and volunteer Houston, and that will kind of link you right to my email and you'll fill out an application. I'll reach out to you with some questions to kind of get more information on what you're interested in, what area are you part of? Just because, here at Vantage, we cover such a large area and we'll just kind of go from there and the onboarding process will include a background check. two step skin TB test or tuberculosis test. And then as well as some training modules, you go through the same training as our employees do. This can be done in person here at the office, or it can even be done remotely at your own pace, if that might be a little bit more flexible for you. And then once that's complete, like I mentioned earlier, you do some onboarding paperwork, and then I will meet you for your first visit, whether it's at a facility. I'm going to show you around the facility or the patient's home, introduce you to whoever may be around either show you around the facility, kind of give you some pointers on when it comes to visit notes, when it comes to what might be a good schedule, we kind of try to tell you to stick to your routine for the patients just to kind of build a routine we're flexible here, we do understand, things might, get in the way, maybe you have a full time job on the side, maybe you have kids you can volunteer during the week or weekend. So we're very flexible. That's I didn't even think about the weekend. Yeah, I'm, I meet volunteers during the weekend all the time. I'm willing to work with you if it means, we can make a difference for the patients most definitely. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, of course. And so typically we have volunteers volunteer once a week at least. Unless discussed otherwise. And you'll kind of make your own schedule from there. So let's say, your best availability, Might be Tuesday at 2 p. m. That definitely works. And then you just kind of go from there. You'll submit volunteer notes a lot of documentation, which might help if maybe you're interested in going into the health field at some point. It kind of allows you to see how documentation works, how to interact with people. Patients how to document patient differences from the last visits, any or abnormalities. So it's a great experience all around. Awesome. Yeah. Awesome. Okay, so is there an age requirement for so typically we say no, no younger than 17. Even at 17, we do require that you have parental permission. And if you are 17, we will only stick you with the facility. We wouldn't have you go to a patient's home just for safety purposes. And so as long as you have that parent. Consent form. Then you'll be good to go. Awesome. So we also talked about kind of requirements, but not really requirements. We really do have kind of a steadfast rule about if you were a if you had a loved one on vantage hospice we ask that you don't. Volunteer for at least 13 months. Yes. So the reason that we do that Obviously is so that you can get through your own grieving process and be you know as whole in Adjust it as possible before you, start trying to give to other people. So make sure your cup is full first and then yeah, grieving is so important and to allow yourself to give time to kind of get through that process and, gather emotions to see, how can you get back to the others? We always want you to be okay before kind of going through that process. So, we're always here. Absolutely. So volunteering, obviously it's a great, opportunity, for lack of a better word, to provide, to help people that are in a difficult situation and provide companionship and things like that. Do you have any special stories that you can think of? Oh my gosh, plenty. So one right off the top of my head is, some of our patients don't have any family whatsoever. So a lot of them, might belong to the state, they might have a guardian up there. to them. I know for those who aren't aware, typically they're charged medical decisions for this patient due to them not having any family. And so one that, really rings a bell is that I had one of those patients and I assigned her a volunteer and it just made the world's difference, she would volunteer once a week and it got to a point where they just create a really special bond. And, The patient, would ask for things like, Hey, could we do this together? Could we watch TV? Could you make me some dumplings? For, the volunteer, she was from Singapore. And so, she had a lot of great dishes that she liked to be involved in. And for them to be able to share their experience, culture with the patient who may not have ever had this experience cause this patient was, kind of a small town woman it was a great, it was a great opportunity and they were able to kind of share that culture together and really build that bond. And I think just that just goes to show that, how involved you can be in someone else's life when it comes to hospice and, you don't even know it. So it's a great, it's a great experience. And then, unfortunately that volunteer eventually moved back to her homeland, but, she'll reach out to me every now and then and say, Hey, I hope, so and so is doing really well. If, if she is, I know, just tell her that I miss her. I hope everything's going good. And so for her to, and I, this was months ago when she moved back, so for her to still reach out just kind of shows you how much volunteering has an impact. Now. Not only the patients, but you yourself, it goes a long way. So that's, it's awesome. I think also in the patient's homes, which can also be kinda scary for people if you're not used to going into patient's homes.. But just giving a. caregiver a minute to, sit down and, or to, address something else that needs to be addressed in their life. Just give them that, that time, that hour or hour and a half. That would be our caregiver relief opportunity. And of course, for the caregivers, caregiver meaning the family member or friend who is caring for that patient at that time, it wouldn't be referring to a staff member. For example, let's say the patient is a mom and that caregiver would be her daughter. And, pretty much like you mentioned, the caregiver, they can get drained out. There's so many things that they have to go through, whether it's. Caregiving for them directly, providing baths, providing meals you know, getting medication um it's a very tiresome uh um workload. So what this volunteer would do for caregiver relief is go into the home and let's just say that family memmember wantsto um. Go get her hair done, or maybe she just needs to go to Kroger's to get a cup of groceries. You'll go to the house for the duration. Typically I say four hours is max. We never really go past four hours just because, Patients might get a little antsy, they might need changing, and again, that's something, you cannot do. And I, you just be assigned there for two hours, for example, and that caregiver would get the opportunity to step away, take a moment to breathe, and then come back, be able to give back to that family member and caregiver for them. So it's a great opportunity. And all of our volunteers who have been involved in that, really enjoy it. They can really tell the difference for you. For, from the caregiver and, the caregivers are always so grateful to the point where, they're always wanting to give something back, But, we say, oh, that's okay. But it's still, it's great. It's great. Yeah. So, again, just so we all understand, so our volunteers are not able to accept, monetary gifts or anything along those lines from families. I know that everybody wants to do something like that a lot of times to show their appreciation, but again, We are not allowed to do that, so. Yeah, you can show, many different ways, absolutely. Even a simple thank you card, or just thanking them in person, goes a long way. Absolutely, it goes a long way. Yeah, so it's great. It's awesome. One of the last things I want to talk about is, so. We are pretty much open to whatever you think your talents are. Oh yes. So if you think you've got a particular talent, we've had people that have knitted blankets, crocheted blankets. I've had people I've had a volunteer who's done artwork out of pipe cleaners. She created a whole flower and it was beautiful and, whatever you think that, you have a talent that might be able to benefit patients or provide resources, please reach out. I am all ears. I'm willing to hear you. I'm willing to try new things. If you like to sing, we can even set something up at a facility especially now the holidays and Christmas. Oh my gosh, the patients and residents of the facilities love that. Even if you, especially if you're younger, you'll remind them of their grandkids. And so it's an awesome opportunity. And, for us, here at Vantage, we are always looking for more volunteers to come on board or even for the art community to get involved. So earlier I mentioned our flower program. If you might be a florist or have a floral shop, we are always willing to partner with you when it comes to donations. So we can continue to give patients and their families, these beautiful works of arts of flowers. Like I mentioned, Vantage covers, a huge territory all the way from, what, Texas city all the way up to Montgomery. Sometimes if we're in a different area, if we're getting flowers in Texas city, we may not be able to spread all the love all the way up to spring. So for us to have florists And it's super important. And we really beneficial. So if you're interested in, partnering with us, just let me know. And when it comes to volunteers, we're always looking for more volunteers when it comes to direct and indirect opportunities. I mentioned if you have something that you want to be involved in, reach out to me, I'm all ears and we are always taking on a new staff. So I think we're, one of the things about us is that we are, we're not Obviously, and Angellica knows all the regulatory guidelines. So she's not gonna do anything that is not allowed. But again, there's very few things. If there's something that you really are interested in, please reach out and we, we'll do everything in our power to, to get you either with that patient, that type of patient, or in that type of situation that can help. And you as well as our, staff and patients. Yeah. And I'm, even if maybe that's something that we may not be able to move forward with, I'm always willing to provide resources to our community and, inform you about opportunities in our community. So even if it's not something that has to do with Vantage, I'm always willing to give advice and kind of show you how to get to where you're going. And, I've been in the position of being a college student and just kind of guiding myself on, where to go in the health industry, where do I go from here. from here. So I'm all ears and I'm willing to give advice. All right. I just wanted to thank you because again you're an awesome volunteer coordinator. We are so blessed to have you with us. So again, she's great. Yeah. The pleasure's all mine. I enjoy what I do. I love what I do and we're excited for 2025. Absolutely.