Hospital plans volunteer program

Officials at Glendale Adventist Medical Center have designed a program to take volunteers beyond filling the water pitcher to interacting with patients who are confined to their beds and in the last stages of life.

The Protective Companion Volunteer program has begun to offer training to volunteers who will eat meals, share activities and sit for two to four hours with patients who are at risk for falls or other safety hazards. Volunteers will also take notes each time they are with the patient to document the patient’s progress and health for nurses.

By 2009, hospital officials hope to have trained volunteers, with help from a registered nurse and chaplain, sit with patients who are in the last stages of life, volunteer department director Liz Mirzaian said.

“There are a number of people who outlive their family and friends,” she said. “If there are no family members or friends, it’s a staff member or volunteer [with this program].”

This program is needed because the hospital has several elderly patients, and nurses are very busy, said Terri Van Houten, director of medical surgical services.“Patients and the families feel a lot more comfortable knowing someone is there with their loved one,” she said.

Patients need companionship for a number of reasons, she said.

“They’re weak, [and] they’re at high risks for falling,” she said. “The other big reason is that they’re just lonely and scared. [They will have] a person that’s there to give them things that they can’t reach or just keep them occupied and help them. It can be very effective for safety.”

Nurses are relieved that a program like this is on the way, Van Houten said.

“It will help not only the families but also the nurses,” she said. “It will make our lives a little easier to know our patients are safe when we’re not in the room. It will make the nurses’ day more efficient.

“If the patient needs something, there’s going to be somebody to help them get us or help them to remember to use their call light.”

With training in the Protective Companion program, volunteers will be able to shift into the No One Dies Alone program.

Mirzaian heard about programs where volunteers sit with patients in their last stages of life, and she wanted to bring a program like that to Glendale Adventist.