Volunteering in a Nursing Facility

Welcome to this presentation: Volunteering in a Nursing Facility. This information was captured from the Louisiana Nursing Home Association website: www.lnha.org. My name is Tammy and I have been an L-P-N since 2005. (The avatar is not me by the way ha, ha, ha!) Let’s continue with the presentation..

[Audio] Volunteering is an expression of the heart. It is an unselfish service of an individual where you can make a difference in someone’s life. Being a volunteer for one of our state’s nursing facility residents is a reward experience. Volunteering can bring a smile to someone making a positive change to someone. It’s nothing like being though of “just because”. You get to build relationships with the residents and the staff. This is a great start if you are wanting to create job experience. Volunteering; you are providing a service to your community..

[Audio] Volunteers can be a high school student, sorority or fraternity member needing to fulfill service hours. Retired worker. Homemaker. Full Time Professional who finds joy in volunteering. Most of these individual have lived a long life – need to love being around older, sometime frail people. Some of the older generation are still young at heart. Being a volunteer, need to be able to take some direction form staff members who know best of how you can help. Be a team player. Be compassionate. Be empathetic..

[Audio] Volunteer opportunities of Activities and engagement with the resident are plentiful, like: Playing cards or a board game Read aloud to an individual or group Visit (or just listen – you can learn a lot); some are great historians. Served in Wars, were Healthcare professional, et cetera (I once had a patient that was a statistician, so he challenged me with Stat problems…you don’t know what you don’t know) Teach a skill or talent (scrapbooking, weaving, knitting, painting, seasonal ornaments, puzzles, computer skills) Offer a free service (ministry, hair styling, manicures, sing and perform with, dancing) Play dress up (hats, wigs, scarfs) Play a game (Wii, et cetera) (Some facilities have game systems, or bring your own) Serve coffee in the morning. Snacks in the afternoon.

[Audio] Volunteering ideas will cause you to be more creative as you learn your resident, other opportunities are: Donating books, magazines, or other tactile items Some facilities will allow you to bring your pet for a visit (imagine being around a litter of puppies) Help a resident type his or her memoir (to have a special writing of a life lived inspirations, and accomplishments) You play an instrument such as playing the piano or another musical instrument. How about a concert where you sing for the entire facility Listening to music, listening to an audio book, meditating and reflecting in a calm environment Creating collages; paper mâché projects, puddy and clay projects Remember birthdays by sending them a card; and/or helping other resident make birthday cards for others Become a pen pal Due to the complexity and acuity of some patients: Be a behind the scenes volunteer, help staff members.

[Audio] Now this can be a task or an eye opener for a facility: First, you want to find a facility that is a good fit for you. You can contact the facility by phone or in person. (I’d prefer face to face contact because it will show your committed interest in becoming a volunteer at their facility.) Hope when you ask about their volunteer programs, they have one. (the activity director is generally the personal contact; they usually coordinate the volunteers) If they don’t have a Volunteer program, suggest that they should start one because you are interested in Volunteering. If they have a Volunteer program: A-P-P-L-Y to become a volunteer. Also, discuss your availability and the types of activities you are interested and are capable of doing. It’s okay to be honest about the duties you are not comfortable doing. It’s okay to say, I would like to train and show competence in doing a task you are capable of doing. Determine if there is any training/consents to be signed due to viewing of patient sensitive information being involved; understanding the rules and regulations of HIPAA. The scheduling of training and signing necessary consents/paperwork, make sure to be there on time and prepared..

[Audio] As a Volunteer, Wake up and Show up(leaving your personal life at home offering uninterrupted volunteered service time unselfishly to others) and make a difference. It is important to honor your commitment to the residents and staff by showing up when you are expected. Consistency yields the best results for both volunteer and resident. Volunteering comes from the heart!.

[Audio] A search on the Louisiana Nursing Home Association site: www.lnha.org, I put in Lafayette, LA and 2 facilities showed up. If you have a facility and it is not posted, Join L-N-H-A!.

[Audio] Thank you for being you and I hope to find out that there is a waiting list for all who want to Volunteer at a Louisiana Nursing home..