Volunteer Supports

Through our donors, our Society, with the support of the Palliative Care Service Team, provides the resources necessary to train volunteers who then give their time to palliative care patients, their caregivers, and families, in home, long-term care facilities, in hospital, in the An Cala Palliative Care Unit or in Hospice Cape Breton.

Trained volunteers provide the emotional, social and/or practical support to a patient, caregivers, and their family in their time of need. Some of the types of support our volunteers provide include:

• Palliative Care Patient Visitor Volunteers provide non-medical support and companionship to palliative care patients, their caregivers, and families  in Hospital, the An Cala Palliative Care Unit and Hospice Cape Breton. These volunteers can assist with such things as providing brief respite care for caregivers and family members or doing things like listening, sharing memories, going for a walk, playing cards, writing a letter, preparing a snack, providing refreshments. They can also assist with a patient’s simple comfort measures including such as fixing a patient’s hair or washing their personal clothing, etc.

• Community Patient Visitor Volunteers offer the same services that patients receive in hospital or hospice but within their own home or in long-term care.

• Community Helping Hands Volunteers can take on other things that may be needed to be done in a palliative care patient’s home such as dog walking, shopping, and gardening, etc.

• Palliative Care Professional Services Volunteers when available, can provide such services as reiki, yoga, art therapy, massage, etc. for palliative care patients within the Cape Breton Regional Hospital, the An Cala Palliative Care Unit and in Hospice Cape Breton.

• End-of-life Comfort Volunteers stay with palliative care patients who would otherwise be alone in their last hours of life. Volunteers are called on as needed and can volunteer in a patients’ home, long-term care facility, in hospital, in the An Cala Palliative Care Unit or in Hospice Cape Breton.

Volunteers also work hard to provide the other important things that go a long way in providing comfort to the palliative care patient, caregivers and their family during their stay in the An Cala Palliative Care Unit or in Hospice Cape Breton. These can include providing baked goods, flowers, participating in special events, making crafts, providing greetings at the reception desk, providing chaplaincy support, assisting with pet therapy, or tending the garden at Hospice Cape Breton, etc.

Palliative care patients, their caregiver, or a family member can make a request through any member of the Palliative Care Service Team should they identify the need for a volunteer.  The selection of a volunteer is conducted by considering interests and personalities through the application and interview process. When a volunteer is assigned, they generally continue with the same person if the patient or family feels it is needed.