Why did you choose hospice care as a volunteer experience? 

After 23 years of service at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, I retired. Very soon after that, I realized that I wanted to find some volunteer experiences and opportunities. I became involved with the Central Aroostook Humane Society, but I found I wanted more. My research interest at the University had been gerontology, and within that area of study is the concept of hospice care. At first, I was not very interested in hospice because of a bad experience I had had when my sister died several years ago. However, I began to talk with a friend who was also interested in Gerontology, and I began to read about the hospice philosophy. With my friend’s encouragement and my study, I decided to apply for volunteer work at the AHOC. I was accepted and started the training. After the first night, I realized that my perception of the hospice experience was changing, and I was excited to learn more. Throughout the training sessions, I began to feel more comfortable, and by the end of the formal training, I knew I had made a good choice for volunteer service, and it is a decision that I have never regretted.

How long have you volunteered at AHOC?

I have been a volunteer for 1 year.

How does your support help the participants, families, and your community?

Saying goodbye to a loved one is one of the most difficult things we can do. While we do it alone and in our own way it makes the process easier if there are others around you to take care of the little things. I see my role, as a volunteer, as someone who can take some of the everyday burdens from the families. I remember one time that I played with a young child so that Mom and Dad could have some time with their mother without distraction. The child was safe and happy, and the parents were appreciative. As for the patients, I see my role as being one where I can offer support in several ways. It may be walking with them to admire the beautiful gardens, to sit and talk with them, to prepare meals that they enjoyed at home and even baking sweets for them, or doing the little things that the professional staff would have to do and thus take them away from their ability to see to the physical comfort of each patient. Finally, as for my support for the community comes in my becoming an ambassador for the House. I have the opportunity to talk with people in the community where I can make them aware of the physical facility of the House of Comfort, the location of the House, the services provided to patients and families and reinforce the idea that AHOC provides for the needs of people in the Aroostook County and that they do not have to travel downstate for hospice care which gives the patients and families more time to be together.

What is most rewarding about your volunteer opportunities?

When I was doing my formal volunteer training, I soon realized that being a volunteer that goes into homes was not something that I could do. I felt that I simply would not be able to “leave it at the door.” Fortunately, because of the facility, I could be a volunteer that worked in House. With time I found that the most rewarding thing was my ability to help the patients and, in many ways, the professional staff as they did their work in the House. I also found that I liked to cook meals and bake sweets for the patients, families, and visitors, which was very rewarding. But with all of that, I have to say that my most rewarding opportunities is to help people through one of the most difficult times of their lives.