Apr 17, 2002 3 min read

Dear Editor: For the nation’s hospices, National Volunteer Week, April 21-27, offers an opportunity to reach out to communities, educate the public about end-of-life care, and to recognize and recruit hospice volunteers who are absolutely vital in fulfilling hospice’s mission to care for dying people and their families.

Hospices know the value of volunteers. According to a recently released National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) report, “an estimated four-fifths of people involved in hospice care in the United States are volunteers providing more than 5 million hours of service annually to the terminally ill and their loved ones.”

“In fact, the important role of volunteers is built into Medicare’s regulations, which require that hospices use volunteers at a level that equals at least 5 percent of the total patient care hours delivered by all paid staff,” the NHPCO report points out (NHPCO, “Delivering Quality Care and Cost-Effectiveness at the End of Life,” 2002).

The Points of Light Foundation estimates volunteer hours to be worth $15.39 per hour. For hospice, this means that annually hospice programs coordinate the equivalent of almost $77 million in volunteer services for the benefit of their patients and families, according to the best estimates of NHPCO.

In human terms, however, the value of hospice volunteers is beyond measure. Hospice volunteers provide an all important community connection for patients and families while helping in countless other ways. And what do hospice volunteers receive in return? Again, the value is inestimable.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “It is one of the beautiful compensations of this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”

This “beautiful compensation” is borne out again and again. And not just for individual volunteers, but for community groups, places of worship, schools, corporations, and for families – any group or individual that commits to volunteer for hospice. By helping hospice, all volunteers receive the “beautiful compensation” of strengthening the fabric of their community, their company, or their family.

In the wake of Sept. 11th volunteerism takes on added significance. We are all reminded of the value of family, community, and the power of committed individuals to do good for others. In his State of the Union address, President Bush noted the heightened status that volunteers now hold in this new era. “We want to be a nation that serves goals larger than self. My call is for every American to commit at least two years, 4,000 hours over the rest of your lifetime, to the service of your neighbors and nation.”

Volunteering for hospice offers a chance to “serve goals larger than self.”

Rosemary Hardy

Uniontown

Ms. Hardy is the volunteer coordinator for Albert Gallatin Home Care & Hospice.