Hospice of the Chesapeake Celebrates Its Volunteers

During National Volunteer Week, April 10 to 16, Hospice of the Chesapeake is celebrating the many gifts of its dedicated volunteers from our community who provide support, companionship and hope to patients and families facing serious and life-limiting illness.

“Every day here we serve approximately 460 patients, and each one of those patients and their families are touched in some way by a volunteer,” said President and CEO Ben Marcantonio. “They give of their time not only directly serving the patient and our organization, but also by attending training sessions and staying informed on new ways to help us provide the very best in comfort, compassion and care.”

Last year, 440 volunteers provided more than 27,000 hours of service to help Hospice of the Chesapeake care for those in the community nearing the end of life.

Hospice volunteers often serve patients and families at the bedside but they also assist in the office, help raise awareness, contribute to educational programs, provide fundraising support and more.

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization reports that there are an estimated 430,000 trained hospice volunteers providing more than 19 million hours of service to hospice programs each year.

An estimated 1.6 million patients in the U.S. are cared for by hospice every year. It is federally mandated under Medicare that 5 percent of all patient care hours be provided by trained volunteers reflecting the vital role that volunteers play in the provision of care.

Hospice of the Chesapeake volunteers help the people they serve live every moment of life to the fullest and enable the organizations they work with to achieve their mission in the community. Most hospice volunteers choose to give their time helping others because of their own experience with the compassionate care hospice provided to a dying loved one.

For those interested in learning more about hospice or volunteer opportunities, please visit www.hospicechesapeake.org.