Our mission is to nurture the physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being of end-of-life patients and their families. We use an interdisciplinary team approach to address all the needs of each patient. As a vital part of the team, a volunteer offers emotional support and companionship at this most important time of life.

Description:
Are you a compassionate person with extra love to share? Can you commit to spending a minimum of 4 hours per month with patients? We want to hear from you.

As a VistaCare volunteer you will bring joy to the remaining days of a hospice patient. You will visit patients located in the metro-Atlanta area in their homes, assisted living facilities or nursing homes, giving comfort and emotional support to them and their families. You may also sit with patients so caregivers can take a brief break from their responsibilities.

Volunteers are needed throughout much of the metro-Atlanta area as well as at VistaCare Center, our 24-hour in-patient hospice facility located at Wesley Woods near the Emory University campus.

For students, especially those working toward a degree in social work, psychology, counseling, or medicine, VistaCare offers the chance to do an internship or practicum in which you get real-life experience in your field - and, in some instances, college credit.

This volunteer experience is not for everyone. You must be willing to make a commitment to follow the patient's Plan of Care, which requires regularly-scheduled visits. If you have the time and the desire to work with end-of-life patients, this should not be a problem.

Please apply only if you are willing to make a SERIOUS COMMITMENT!

Volunteers must be given an annual TB test as well as submit to a criminal background check, a drug screening, and a check of your motor vehicle (driving) record. Training takes about 4 hours in class plus about 3 hours of additional reading you will do on your own. You will be supervised and mentored by professionals on the interdisciplinary team that cares for your patient.

PLEASE NOTE: VistaCare serves patients throughout a large portion of metro-Atlanta. The address given is for our offices only.

History:
Dr. Dame Cicely Saunders spearheaded the hospice movement in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Great Britain. She realized that the dying not only needed adequate pain control but also needed their emotional and spiritual issues addressed. She assisted in creating many of the early hospice branches in the United States today. She eventually worked with Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in expanding research and educating people on the aspect of hospice and working with dying people. Almost 35 years later, VistaCare Hospice was formed and now has numerous sites throughout the entire United States that are addressing the needs of the dying as was intended from the beginning of hospice.

Contact person: Barbara Kruger, (phone), (email)
Office fax number: (678) 581-1116

Address:

400 Franklin Rd, Suite 200 Marietta, GA 30067 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.vistacare.com

Directions:

Take I-75 to exit 263. Go west to the 2nd traffic light (just past Applebee's) and turn right onto Franklin Rd. You are now in Cobb Corporate Center, and we are located in Building 400, Suite 200.

Additional Information

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