McLean Hospice Volunteers Are Ready to Help

End of life care can take many forms. At Hospice, volunteers play a vital role in not only the end, but also the life before the end.

“We all may be from different walks of life, but we are all going to die and hospice is a way we can help people live their lives until they die,” said Geri Spano.

Spano is one of a class of 17 volunteers who recently completed 20-plus hours of intensive hospice training at McLean Hospice in Simsbury.

Hospice is a philosophy of how to take care of people and their families as they face the end of their life. It addresses the patient’s (and their family’s) physical, emotional, spiritual and social needs in a way that is respectful and dignified. Volunteers are a part of the support team that also includes nurses, social workers, aides, counselors and doctors.

“It isn’t something you go into lightly,” said new volunteer Jessie Kingston, adding she has a relative who had a positive experience with hospice care.

“McLean is a very well run and managed supportive organization. I feel very positive about people who are a part of the team there,” she said.

McLean’s volunteer training includes eight different three-hour sessions that meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Training includes active listening, helpful reading lists, and guidance about how to be open-minded and non-judgmental about a family’s grieving process. 

“Training made us examine our own beliefs and our own prejudices about death and dying. Every family does dying in different ways … You can’t make snap judgments,” said Kingston.

“The training reinforced my beliefs in death just being a part of our life,” said Jean Walston, who has a background in finance and is a new volunteer.

The volunteers meet with professionals who have worked in hospice who share their experiences and expertise, plus have their own personal interviews with counselors, as well as going through criminal background checks.

New volunteers begin by shadowing more experienced volunteers before they are assigned their own patients.

“The education was like a college course and the team is so passionate about what they do,” said new volunteer Jan Malyak, a retired nurse.

“It isn’t all altruism,” said Kingston, a non-profit manager, about why she volunteered.

She wanted to know more about death and dying. Society’s norm is to avoid the subject, said Kingston, people need to bring the topic out into the open.

“We should treat our elderly population more openly,” she said.

The interdisciplinary team is not only there to help in quality care of patients, but also their families.

Volunteers can run errands, grocery shop, wrap gifts, decorate houses for the holidays, write letters, read, play games, pray or even entertain small grandchildren. They are a social support for the family and are fitted to meet each family’s needs.

“People who are dying, their greatest fear is abandonment. Our job is to assure them,” said Spano, a retired music teacher, who has also trained in marriage therapy and pastoral counseling.

“We will stay with them, be present. Your mind should not be wandering … I am still a bit nervous about what can I really do,” she said.

“When I get nervous, I remember the mantra ‘be present, genuine, and caring.’ Those words were heard a lot,” she added.

McLean’s Hospice serves people throughout the Farmington Valley in their homes, in assisted living facilities, long-term care facilities, or wherever people prefer to be.

“To be allowed, and even invited, to be in that space is truly humbling, and to have someone share some of their life’s experiences with you, a complete stranger, is a great honor,” said Spano.

“For me it is a way of giving back, a way of expressing my appreciation to the hospice workers that supported me during my own mother’s death. Perhaps it may even be helping someone carry a load that is too heavy at times. In some small way, it is my way of expressing gratitude,” she said.

The class also included: Leslie Alan, Betty Anderson, Jennifer Bordiere, Susan Butler, Kay Christopher, Lorenna Falla, Shao Gong, Betsey Kenna, Leslie Kime, Robert Knight, Maryellen McAlees, Linda Perreira, and Karen Wagner. For more information about volunteering at McLean Hospice call Lori Scudder at 860-658-8260 or see www.mcleancare.org/hospice.shtml.