LCMR Gives Hospice Patients Comfort and Joy

A Christmas party for the elderly residents of Chapin House on Saturday, Dec. 13 marked an important milestone for 14 young visitors from Lower Cape May Regional High School’s Renaissance Program. They sang carols, shared cookies and made ornaments, but most importantly, they met, for the first time, the six hospice patients, who they will comfort through some of the most difficult days of their lives.

As part of the High School Volunteer Program, the students began preparing for this day a few weeks ago. They attended a day long training session with professionals from Care Alternatives, one of New Jersey’s largest hospice care providers. They learned about the history of hospice care, family dynamics, hand washing and infection control. They practiced active listening and hand massage, and they learned about pain management, and death, and the final stages of dying.
It is not a volunteer opportunity that every teenager would be comfortable with, but for the rest the of the year, these students have promised to dedicate one hour a week to estab-lishing a relationship with the Care Alternatives hospice patients that live at Chapin House.
“So many of our patients are so elderly that they have outlived their circle of support,” Care Alternatives Volunteer Coordinator Robert Sawran said. Over the next months, these LCMR students will become a part of the patients’ support system.
As the students waited to meet their new friends in a small dining area at the facility, they were a little nervous, but clearly excited to embark on this new journey.
Some, like Senior Emily Moulder, already had a good idea what hospice care entailed.
“I’ve had a personal experience with hospice,” Moulder said. Her grandfather was on hospice care before he passed away in her family home a few years ago.
She knows it can be difficult, but she also knows there are unexpected rewards in offering comfort to those who need it.
The Chapin House holiday event was a great low-pressure environment to break the ice, Sawran said. The students met many of the facility’s residents, not all of whom are on hospice, but nonetheless they seemed grateful for the company. In fact, few could resist singing along as students lead a rousing rendition of “Jingle Bells” and other carols.
Hospice volunteering is not for everybody, Sawran admits. “You can’t really sell it,” he said, but for those who are so inclined, it is a rewarding experience.
“These students are really embracing this opportunity,” he said. They are giving a gift of time and compassion that will bring comfort and joy well past the Christmas season.
For more information about volunteering with Care Alternatives Hospice, call 866-821-1212. See more pictures of this event in Lower Cape May Regional High School’s photo album at capemaycountyherald.com.
Contact Cawley at: (609) 886-8600 ext. 47 or mcawley@cmcherald.com