We have some of the greatest human beings on the planet who visit and help patients during their end-of-life journeys, for several hours every week. They are all heroes in our eyes, and we are proud to celebrate them for National Volunteer Month.
Nils Fredland, VNH psychosocial and volunteer supervisorVolunteers who serve patients on hospice for Dartmouth Health’s Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire (VNH) gathered for a Volunteer Appreciation Event at the VNH office on Monday, April 22, marking the largest group of VNH staff and volunteers to have gathered in-person since COVID-era restrictions limited in-person visits.
“We have some of the greatest human beings on the planet who visit and help patients during their end-of-life journeys, for several hours every week. They are all heroes in our eyes, and we are proud to celebrate them for National Volunteer Month,” said VNH psychosocial and volunteer supervisor Nils Fredland. “I can’t overstate how meaningful it is for a patient when a volunteer offers the gift of companionship; to laugh and talk, play cribbage for hours, work on legacy projects like scrapbooks or simply sit together. For many, the activities that bring them joy are as lifegiving as the outstanding healthcare they receive from our visiting providers.”
Eight of the current roughly 15 volunteers attended the event, which featured food and socializing, opening remarks from VNH president and CEO Johanna L. Beliveau, DNP, MBA, RN, Fredland, and other agency leaders, and a presentation from agency staff members with testimonies from patients about the impact the volunteers make and messages of thanks from case managers and chaplains.
VNH’s growing roster of hospice volunteers visit regularly with patients to play card games, eat dinner, play music and help with simple tasks. Others offer a path to grief and loss support, technical support for the agency or reach out to bereaved loved ones to offer bereavement support. The volunteer program was significantly diminished during the COVID-19 pandemic as in-person volunteer visits were forced to cease, but over the past several months, the program has steadily grown to meet the needs of the current hospice patients.
VNH is actively welcoming new volunteers from the roughly 100 New Hampshire and Vermont towns it serves. Anyone interested in making a difference in someone’s end-of-life journey and becoming a hospice volunteer is encouraged to contact Fredland at (888) 300-8853 ext. 710, or apply online at vnhcare.org/families-community/volunteering.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire's only academic health system and the state's largest private employer, serves patients across northern New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,000 providers in almost every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH, as well as across its wide network of hospitals, clinics and care facilities. DHMC is consistently named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, one of only 56 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, and the only such center in northern New England; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, the state’s only children’s hospital, and multiple clinic locations around the region; member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene and New London, NH, and Bennington and Windsor, VT; Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire; and more than 24 clinics that provide ambulatory services across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its historical partnership with Dartmouth and the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually, and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials recognized across the globe with Geisel and the White River Junction VA Medical Center in White River Junction, VT. Dartmouth Health and its more than 13,000 employees are deeply committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in our communities, and to providing each of our patients with exceptional, personal care.