Volunteers witness life-changing moments

Anna Trappett believes the most important moment of one’s life is their death.

As a registered nurse who has been working at Community Nursing Service Home Health & Hospice for the majority of her career, she has witnessed the good volunteers can bring at the end of one’s life.

According to her, volunteers are as important as the nurses, social workers, doctors and other members of the hospice team.

Community Nursing Services, or CNS, here in Logan are looking for compassionate individuals to volunteer with their Home Health & Hospice team. Whether you’re a pre-med student looking to build your resume — or simply someone who wants to give back to your community — this position provides volunteers with a meaningful experience.

“The volunteer plays a vital role with our hospice patients,” Trappett said. “That role includes spending time reading to them, talking to them, playing music, sharing stories or even doing some crafts like quilts.”

According to Trappett, all members of the team have the same goal in mind: provide compassionate care and each aspect of Hospice is important.

“The volunteer is an incredible component to the care of these patients, just like a cog in a wheel,” Trappett said. “They’re so important. They make a really hard process just that much easier.”

Though crafting, reading, playing music and talking to patients are all good examples of what volunteers do, the most important question a volunteer can ask a patient is “what can I do to help,” Trappett said.

Patients might need help straightening their home, doing the dishes, watching their kids or whatever else their needs might be. Trappett said volunteers comfort those who are experiencing a world of uncertainty.

“Sometimes they’re just there to hold their hands,” Trappett said.

The greatest thing a volunteer can do is just be a presence in the patient’s life — something that is extremely important for those who are reaching the end of their lives.

“Life is hard,” Trappett said. “And death is not any easier. But if you’ve got a team of people who are interested in you as a person, willing to listen and who show you compassion, it makes the process easier.”

Many of the patients enjoy music, and volunteers can connect with them through it.

“A volunteer might find success through reaching a patient who isn’t very responsive with music,” Trappett said. “They may not remember the name of their family, or details about their life, but they might remember the tune.”

When a volunteer applies for the position, they will share some of their hobbies and interests. If there are any shared interests, Trappett will try and pair those individuals together.

Trappett shared about a patient who had a special interest in opera and CNS was able to find a volunteer who appreciated opera just as much as him. 

“He wouldn’t tell us a whole lot,” Trappett said. “It’s almost like he didn’t want to open up, but he did open up to his volunteer at least about his love for opera and the reasons he loved certain songs.”

Trappett said it was a special experience for him to listen to and speak about something he loved in his final days.

Military volunteers are sometimes pared with patients who also served — which allows them to speak on their experiences with someone who understands.

Near the end of life, some patients have a hard time letting go certain things they never resolved. Trappett mentioned one time a volunteer had an understanding of the patients’ situation and was a great help.

“The volunteer just allowed that patient to talk and share those experiences in which the patient and the volunteer both related to,” Trappett said. “It seems to open a doorway of communication that sometimes the other team members just can’t reach.”

Trappett emphasized the variety of services volunteers do for these people through sharing a story about a volunteer who wrote up a dying patient’s journal from their religious mission.

The pandemic did not stop volunteers from being there for their patients. Phone calls, handwritten letters, art and alternative methods of communication were all received by patients during the peak of the coronavirus.

“I knew one in particular that would just paint with watercolor and send it to their patient,” Trappett said. “That is what being a volunteer looks like.”

According to Trappett, being a volunteer with CNS doesn’t just benefit the Home Health & Hospice patients — it has equal benefits for the volunteer — especially students looking to go into medicine or social work.

“When you’re applying for whatever direction you’re going,” Trappett said, “to say that you volunteered in health care for hospice patients looks good on a resume.”

Though this is a good opportunity for those students, the benefits don’t stop at an impressive resume. Some people will find personal satisfaction for helping those who were in need.

“In the very end, you’re going to look back at this and say, ‘I did good work,’” Trappett said.

Trappett wants the volunteer process to not only be volunteering but an experience. Volunteers will be trained on a variety of topics including concepts of death and dying, the dying process, communication skills, coping mechanisms, stress management, and care and comfort measures.

“I may spend a little more time with the bio-med or the biology students and go over congestive heart failure, COPD and other diagnosis these patients may have,” Trappett said. “It will be beneficial for them to be able to see the diagnoses they have learned about in class.”

Though this is a good experience for those students, Trappett said anyone who is looking to immerse themselves in a different world of thinking and being is the perfect fit to be a volunteer.

“This is a good area to be in if you want to serve,” Trappett said. “Serving mankind doesn’t often come with bells and whistles.”

Trappett suggests anyone who is looking to create life-long connections should try out the volunteer program.

“I know of volunteers who, even years after their patients died, still have contact with the family,” Trappett said.

If you, or anyone you know is interested in volunteering with CNS, Trappett encourages you to reach out to her at Anna.Trappett@cns-cares.org.