For whatever reason, we occasionally have patients in our hospitals who do not have loved ones at their side as they are nearing death. Sometimes they have outlived their loved ones, or their family lives too far away to get here in time. Whatever the reason, we never like to see a person alone during their final hours.
Catholic Healthcare West's East Valley hospitals will provide compassionate companionship and love to people in the final hours of their life with no close family or friends at their side. The No One Dies Alone program at Chandler Regional Medical Center and Mercy Gilbert Medical Center is a volunteer program with the goal that no one in the hospital will die without the presence of a loving, caring, compassionate companion by their side.
Volunteers will receive in-depth educational training that covers the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of dying, what they might expect to experience at a patient’s bedside, how to deal with the unexpected and how to be most helpful. The training includes a look at multi-faith and multi-cultural ideas of death. A volunteer will sit with patients, read to them, talk to them, or hold their hand. Sometimes a volunteer will just be with the patient in generous silence.
Anyone 21 or older with a compassionate and caring heart can volunteer for the No One Dies Alone program at either Chandler Regional Medical Center or Mercy Gilbert Medical Center. No previous or special experience is needed, but volunteers should feel comfortable with end-of-life issues and their own mortality.
For more information, contact Chaplain Betsy Powers at betsy.powers@chw.edu or call 480-728-5671.
