Compassus Hospice is rather shorthanded at the moment when it comes to area volunteers.

Jill Venden, volunteer coordinator for Compassus, said that the organization is actively seeking volunteers in the Wellman and Kalona area.

“Here in Wellman, I have people on services, but I don’t have any volunteers right now,” Venden said. “I think a good safe number would be three or four volunteers in this area.

“It would be nice to find someone who is retired or has one day a week where they have a little time in the afternoon.”

Venden explained that the one volunteer Compassus has in the area is currently having to take some time off from volunteering because of medical reasons.

Volunteers spend time with hospice patients, usually just visiting with them in some manner.

“I would say 90% of my volunteers give the gift of presence, just being there,” Venden said. “Maybe it’s sitting and talking. Maybe it’s reading scripture. Maybe it’s watching an old movie or playing music.”

Volunteers help by providing companionship, a listening presence, emotional and spiritual support, and sometimes even relief for patient caregivers.

Volunteers, however, can- not do things like feed or transfer or give medications.

The process to become a hospice volunteer begins with an application and an interview.

“We would talk to them about why they want to become a volunteer,” Venden said. “There’s a background screening that has to be done. We want to make sure our clients are safe.”

The next step is training. Venden said that the state of Iowa requires 14 hours of training for hospice volunteers.

“For those who have access to a computer, I have PowerPoints that I can send,” she said. “There are modules that go over everything from the history of hospice to the different types of things we see often.”

Some of those subjects include family dynamics and Alzheimer’s disease.

Hospice patients are managed by a team of professionals that include a doctor, nurses and social workers.

“Our social workers find out a little about our clients before I get them a volunteer,” Venden said. “Not everyone wants a volunteer. That’s determined by the social worker.”

She added that visits can range from 15 minutes to even longer times. She said that visits tend to get longer as volunteers and patients get to know each other more.

Venden said that being a hospice volunteer can be personally rewarding.

“Some volunteers get more out of it than the clients do,” she said.

One of the special program Compassus offers is their Veteran-to-Veteran volunteer program.

Volunteers who are veterans can be matched with patients who are veterans.

“We look specifically for people who are veterans and are interested in sitting with other veterans who might not have talked about their time in the service,” Venden said. “As they come to the end of life, they didn’t want to put that burden on their family, but maybe somebody else who can understand and can talk the talk.”

On Memorial Day, Compassus did a special program at Parkview Manor in Wellman, honoring all the veterans in the facility. They plan to do another one for Veterans Day.

Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer can contact Venden at 928-899-8546 or by email at jill.venden@compassus.com.