Category Archives: Mission Volunteers

Torrey DeVitto – NHPCO Advocate

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Mission Hospice volunteer, Torrey DeVitto has been busy on the national level working with the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Torrey was a special guest at the recent NHPCO conference in San Diego and presented outstanding achievement awards to several volunteers. The NHPCO have created a landing page for her on their WEBSITE.

 

The Four Things That Matter Most (Book Review by Amy, Volunteer)

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Byok, Ira.   

The FourThings That Matter Most: A Book About Living. 
 New York: Free Press, 2004.
Ira Byock, M.D. has devoted his career to improving thequality of care for those in the end-of-life season.   
He co-founded the Life’s End Institute:Missoula Demonstration Project, Inc., and has served as the president of theAcademy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. He currently holds a faculty position at Dartmouth School of Medicineand is the director of palliative medicine at Dartmouth Hitchcock MedicalCenter. 
The thesis of this book is that “four simple statements arepowerful tools for improving your relationships and your life” (3).  These four statements are Please forgive me,I forgive you, Thank you, and I love you. Byock asserts that through saying the Four Things, people aretransformed and eperience healing and wholeness.  Through the stories presented in his book,Byock demonstrates how “The Four Things are powerful tools for reconciling therifts that divide us and restoring the closeness we innately desire” (7).  
Following the introductory overview of the Four Things,Byrock’s literary structure provides a section for each component of thesecritical words: (1) Forgiveness, (2) Gratitude, (3) I Love You and (4)Goodbye.  He further divides these broadsegments of four focus sections into detailed stories that illustrate thepowerful impact of the Four Things on various families.  Throughout the book, the stories capture thepowerful way in which transformation takes place as individuals utilized theFour Things to complete their relationships. 
From the outset, Byock clearly explains that his role as adoctor is not to heal the relationships himself: “As a doctor, I cannot healrelationships between other people any more than I can will the grass togrow.  I can prepare them for healing,plant some seeds, keep careful watch, and nurture any evidence of growth.  In the plowing and planting and tending ofthe emotional, spiritual healing process, words are my most valuable tool.”(14).  Through Byock’s wisdom regardingthe careful usage of words, I have been encouraged in my chaplaincy training,as I have seen how a prudent and thoughtful selection of words made an enormousimpact on the visits that I had with patients throughout the summer. 
I wasdeeply moved be each and every one of the sections included in The Four Things,but the most impaction section for my life as a chaplain-in-training thissummer was the first section on forgiveness. As Bryock notes, “Forgiveness is a passage to a sanctuary of wholeness,that nurturing place where we feel intimately connected to the people whomatter most to us.  It is a place ofhealing and transformation.  In it, wefeel the perfect fullness of the present” (40). I have experienced the gift of forgiveness even while meeting withpatients throughout the summer as I have traditionally been very hard on myselfand have learned over time how to forgive myself for not being perfect, and fornot always having the perfect response to everything.  Through slowing down to be with my patients,hear their stories and practice the ministry of presence this summer, I havelearned that there is truly a “perfect fullness” in the present, and the bestway to embrace that is through experiencing life from a place ofwholeness.   

LINK TO AUTHOR’S SITE
LINK TO BOOK ON AMAZON

Companion Volunteers Needed for Hospice Patients

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CLICK FOR VOLUNTEER TRAINING DATES
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SIGNING UP, PLEASE CLICK TO CONTACT US

Hospice volunteering is an intensely gratifying experience. Your time spent with MISSION HOSPICE will directly impact countless patients by providing friendly companionship for the last days of their lives. You will be part of a team that relies on you to be a great communicator and dedicated to patient care.

Although our office is located in South Pasadena, our patients reside all over Los Angeles County and beyond. You will be assigned to one patient and family at a time, usually at a convenient distance from your home, and you will support that patient and family through the duration of the dying process. All of the patients we care for have a life expectancy of six months or less.

We offer a specialized group training program several times per year to prepare you for, and help you get the most out of your volunteer experience. Our next training program begins in September so please call today to reserve your place.

For more information about our volunteer opportunities please contact our Volunteer Coordinator at (626) 799-2727

http://www.missionhospicevolunteers.com

To qualify as a hospice volunteer: * Must be over 18 years of age * Give a one year commitment * Volunteer 2 hours per week * Maintain a current drivers license, insurance and reliable transportation * Complete 16 hours of specialized training * One time background check * Yearly TB tests * Maintain strict confidentiality * Complete timely documentation * One time background check * Maintain strict confidentiality

Announcing September 2011 Patient Visit Volunteer Training

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All training sessions take place at the Mission Hospice office on Saturday mornings from 10am – 12:30pm

1. September 10th   -   Hospice Overview


2. September 17th   -   Psycho-Social Issues – Rene Frescas, Social Worker


3. September 24th   -   Spiritual Care – Stephen Moorey, Chaplain


4. October 1st   -   Nursing Care -  Katie Robinson, Nurse Case Manager
 

5. October 8th   -   The Volunteer Experience – TBA, Volunteer


6. October 15th   -   Graduation

Please contact Guy, Volunteer Coordinator should you wish to attend. Thank You.

(626) 799 – 2727
volunteermissionhospice@gmail.com