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 largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.