Hospice patient Betty Sallee holds Elvira, who works as a volunteer pet team member for Main Street Hospice with her owner Natalie Jennings. Volunteers are a key component to the services provided by Main Street Hospice, which recently held a recognition event for those who serve with them.
SUBMITTED PHOTOThis was an opportunity to pass on compassion and love in someone’s final moment.
Natalie Jennings watched as her grandmother spent her final days in hospice care. At a time that could have been filled with pain and fear, Jennings remembered how hospice workers and volunteers had done everything they could to put her grandma at ease, in addition to the rest of the family.
The experience cemented something in her — she wanted to be part of that.
“That made a very big impression on me, just how good it was. How nice the people were, and how grateful I was we had people like that for a transition for my grandmother, and for us too,” she said. “I always thought, if I was a nurse, I wanted to be a hospice nurse. If I volunteered, I wanted to volunteer at a hospice.
She followed her goal and now is a volunteer at Main Street Hospice in Franklin.
Volunteers such as Jennings are the engine driving the community forward. They give their time to agencies helping a myriad of different causes, from assisting animals without homes to serving children to helping the sick and elderly with everyday life.
This past week was designated National Volunteer Association Week, and for groups throughout the county, it was an opportunity to show just how important service is to people in need.
Main Street Hospice was no different, planning an appreciation event featuring brunch, a recognition ceremony and instruction on how to apply “gentle touch” to comfort patients.
“Our annual volunteer appreciation brunch is one way we can demonstrate to our volunteers how much we appreciate them. It is a day we look forward to each year to gather together, provide a delicious breakfast meal and recognize each volunteer for their role and years of service,” said Kim Weddle, administrator at Main Street Hospice. ” … Volunteer appreciation isn’t done just once a year though — we try to show our appreciation throughout the year in many different ways.”
But to those who volunteer, the time spent helping others is all the recognition they need.
“You can’t explain it. You’re walking a foot off the ground,” Prosser said. “You feel like you’ve blessed them, and done something for God too, because you’re filling a void in a person’s heart.”
At Main Street Hospice, volunteers are a core component of the operation. The Franklin-based operation offers physician-directed care and nursing services, medical social services and counseling, bereavement support as well as medication, supplies, equipment and therapy.
But in order to be successful, they rely on people willing to give their time and talents to help people in a variety of ways. They can provide companionship to patients and caregivers, sit with patients for a short time to give caregivers a break, offer to be with a patient at the end of their lives, or help organize and throw mini birthday parties for patients.
“The volunteer program is an integral part of our hospice and palliative care program. These volunteers are caring people of all walks of life who selflessly give of their time and talents to make a difference in our patients and their families’ lives,” Weddle said.
Since January 2020, Main Street Hospice’s volunteer corps has grown from three people to 33, ranging in age from 14 years old to 83.
Medicare regulations require hospices to show evidence of a volunteer program, in which volunteer hours equal 5% of all clinical hours spent with patients. But Main Street volunteers averaged more than 10% of time spent with patients last year, and they’re on track for that again this year, said Cheryl Mioduski, volunteer coordinator for the hospice.
“You’ve heard it say, ‘It takes a village,’ and that is so true. Our palliative and hospice patients have a need for companionship, and their caregivers have a need for both respite and practical support in the home,” she said. “Our volunteers help meet those needs. And, the more hands we have to help, the more we can confidently meet those needs.”
Steve Prosser had been a longtime volunteer, doing work with his church as well as serving fellow veterans as a member of the local Honor Guard. He and his wife, Edna, enjoy giving their time to others, he said.
His time with Main Street Hospice started about five years ago with a request from one of the ministers at his church.
“He had become involved with the hospice people as their chaplain,” “He told me they were going to start doing military honors for the veterans in hospice, and they were looking for someone with a uniform. I had mine from the Honor Guard, so he called me to see if I wanted to help.”
Prosser jumped at the chance. Dressed in his crisp white military uniform, he meets with patients of the hospice who served in the military. Conducting an official ceremony, he presents them with a pin and certificate, before straightening up into a salute — an emotional moment that impacts both he and the people he’s honoring.
“The rewards are astronomical,” he said. “It’s hard to explain; the Lord touches everyone’s heart differently. What I get from doing this is the look in their eyes sometimes, the tears from the people or the family who is there.”
Prosser has had experience with hospice in the past; his mother received the service, and he’s had friends and family go into it as well. But his time as a volunteer with Main Street Hospice has been something entirely unique.
“I would have never in a million years have guessed I’d be doing what I’m doing now. I’m 76, so I can really relate to a lot of these people and a lot of these situations,” he said.
Gretchen Pike and her husband moved to Franklin in 2021, shortly after her retirement. She had always been interested in the services hospice provides, and with more free time, she reached out to Main Street Hospice to offer help. They signed her up and trained her to start working with patients.
She wasn’t alone — she had help.
“My dog Tripp and I are a certified therapy team. So we work with Main Street to do pet therapy visits,” she said. “We visit them in their homes, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, that kind of thing.”
In addition to providing pet therapy, she also visits patients to sit with them and give them companionship. The time also allows caregivers of her patients to take a break, run errands or engage in a hobby or activity they enjoy, Pike said.
“Giving back to your community, in whatever role or capacity possible that feels like a good fit, is so valuable, not only to the community, but to your soul,” she said. “No matter where you volunteer or what your interests are, just do it.”
Jennings is also a hospice volunteer with the pet therapy team. After doing pet therapy for groups such as the Whiteland library and Eskenazi Hospital, she saw an advertisement for volunteers at Main Street Hospice. She called and offered her service in pet therapy — something the hospice had hoped to start.
“When I visit with people or share things, if it seems like it’s giving anything to them, I know I’m getting 10 times the amount back,” she said. ”If it’s paying it foward just a little bit what my grandma, then I’m happy to keep doing it.”
How to help
Volunteers are always needed at Main Street Hospice for a variety of roles, including patient or caregiver companionship, respite volunteers, “Birthday Club” volunteers, office volunteers, and “We Honor Veterans” volunteers.
To learn more or to apply, go to mainstreethospicein.com/volunteer.
