Hudson Hospice Volunteers of Jersey City is a non-profit organization that offers compassion, care, and respite for families dealing with a relative afflicted with either a curable disease or a terminal illness. A hospice volunteer is someone who talks to a patient to minimize the suffering and help them approach that final moment with dignity.
‘We provide respite for the caregiver and comfort to the patient.’ – Sister Carol
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Motivated by personal experience
The hospice concept, introduced in the United States in the 1980s, involves coming up with a plan of care for the patient whether it’s in the hospital, nursing facility, or home.
Sister Carol, a former Catholic teacher, left teaching 22 years ago to work for the local group. “I was moved by a student who was diagnosed with a brain tumor,” she says. “I was very close with her, and when I saw the wonderful care that she received in hospice, I wanted to work in that capacity.”
Sister Carol heads the eight-week course, meeting once a week at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish House on Clerk Street in Jersey City. The curriculum is not for everyone, she adds. It deals with hospice philosophy, volunteerism, family dynamics, listening skills, medical overview, personal death awareness, cultural competence, and grief and bereavement.
“Hospice is non-denominational, and its holistic approach deals with the physical, spiritual, emotional and financial aspects of an illness. As volunteers, we might hold a patient’s hand, talk or just give the family a break. We don’t want anyone to be alone,” she explained.
Hospice care is covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurance plans.
Comfort, not conversion
Hospice care has sometimes gotten a bad rap. Sister Alice said that it’s not “an evangelizing program to convert someone,” as some believe. “Our volunteers come from a spiritual background, because it’s the faith that supports the volunteer,” she says. “But they understand that the goal is to be an effective listener and not conversion.”
Hospice volunteer Linda Smigelski’s involvement with hospice resulted from her father’s sickness.
“It was a miracle that I could stay home with him during that time. Getting relief from a hospice worker, it eased my burden,” she says.
Once the training program is completed, there are other requirements: a physical test, two forms of identification, a criminal, sex offender, and motor vehicle background check, and two letters of recommendation.
Every day and every patient is different
“When the patient can’t respond, I just sit quietly. I do believe that the person realizes that someone is there. I might pray silently, sing spiritual songs quietly or touch the forehead. Every day is different, I’m offering companionship,” says Alejandra Cortes of Bayonne, a hospice volunteer.
She takes her cue from the patient in regards to prayer, but more importantly, presence is everything, just being near someone regardless of their response.
There are currently 30 Hudson Hospice volunteers. Sister Carol says she knows her volunteers very well and matches them up with families accordingly.
“I talk to families and tell them that these volunteers are like a good friend or a good neighbor. We provided respite for the caregiver and comfort to the patient,” she says.
Volunteers are also supported with programs and meetings after the eight-week course to help separate their own grief and loss from the past, according to Sister Alice.
Encompassing diverse backgrounds and full-time careers, volunteers are the retired, teachers, finance and mortgage representatives, registered nurses, an administrative assistant, a librarian and an x-ray technologist. The Hudson Hospice advertises for volunteers in some newspapers, but mostly church bulletins, Sister Carol says.
Hudson Hospice receives grants from the Hudson County United Way, Hudson County of Aging, and the Auxiliary Volunteers.
Donations can be made by calling the Hudson Hospice office at (20) 433-6225. Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer can call Sister Carol for information on the next training class.