Volunteers offer compassion to those in hospice

Mukilteo resident Jody Mahoney has seen firsthand how difficult hospice care can be. But she’s also seen how it deeply impacts those who die and the ones they leave behind. 

Mahoney and her Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Finnegan, visited a hospice patient at her home weekly for three months in 2020. The woman had no friends or family – only Mahoney and the dog to keep her company. 

When the woman was transferred to a hospice center during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, no visitors were allowed. Her final moments were filled with listening to her favorite music, sipping her favorite beer, and asking for a picture of her favorite brown-haired dog: Finnegan.

Mahoney and Finnegan, despite being miles away, continued to do their job as hospice volunteers. They comforted her. 

“I sent a picture of Finnegan and (the nurse) printed it out,” Mahoney said. “The patient had it sitting with her right on her chest as she went off into the next world.” 

Mahoney is one of 145 trained hospice volunteers with Providence at Home with Compassus Hospice Care in Everett, supporting patients and their families as they receive end-of-life care. Mahoney started at Providence seven years ago, contributing almost 400 hours of service and winning an internal company award during National Volunteer Appreciation Month. 

Hospice volunteers provide nonmedical assistance and emotional support to patients through companionship, pet therapy, and weekly check-in calls. 

Many are drawn to the work because of their own personal experiences with hospice and grief, said Providence’s manager of volunteer services, Sarah Tollefson. 

“You all get to bring life into people's last day,” Tollefson said in a speech to a room full of volunteers and other staff. Earlier this month, Providence hosted a Volunteer Appreciation event for National Volunteer Appreciation Month, recognizing and celebrating their service.  

Mahoney, who retired from working in health-care sales, began volunteering at Providence after both of her parents passed away. 

“Both of my parents had been in hospice care when they were in their final stages, and I just saw the good that it did for them,” Mahoney said. 

Mahoney started as a pet therapy volunteer with Finnegan, then was the driving force of the company’s check-in call program in 2020. 

Feelings about loss

Edmonds resident Brittni Atkinson shared a similar story. She began volunteering after her 24-year-old brother died. Atkinson had just moved to Washington from Hawaii and was working at a different hospice facility when her brother died.

“My co-workers, who were essentially professionals, really helped me understand all of my feelings about the loss,” she said. “The compassion that they showed me, I carry it with me everywhere.” 

Atkinson has volunteered at Providence for 3 years, first as a handicraft volunteer donating crocheted stuffed animals and later as a patient care volunteer. 

Like Atkinson, Jeff Baird, a semi-retired psychologist, has worked with Providence for two and a half years as a patient-care volunteer, providing not only companionship but also respite for caregivers. Baird, who also lives in Edmonds, said his “marching orders” in life are to serve others, following in the footsteps of his parents, who volunteered at food banks and children's hospitals.  

Baird emphasized that each day in hospice is different. While some patients require more attentive services, other patients just need a quiet, nearby presence.

“It's all about them. It's not about you at all,” Baird said. “I'm not going to be telling my last stories, but they will if they can. There are times when they can't, so our presence is also very important. Some silence is OK.” 

A camp for kids

Providence also hosts an annual overnight camp for children ages 6 to 17 experiencing grief of a loved one, often referred to as their “person” in the camp. Camp Erin, which occurs each summer, provides grief education, along with traditional camping activities. 

Atkinson said helping the campers find joy amid loss has fundamentally transformed her understanding of both grief and her role as a volunteer. 

She recalled her favorite camp memory: helping a quiet, introverted kid overcome his fear of jumping into a lake. 

“I was telling this very reticent camper, ‘We can jump, I'll be here with you, but I can't hold your hand. I'm not going to force you to jump.’ I want to say, probably took three minutes of me standing there in silence, this kid looking at me and going back and forth.”

The child cannonballed into the water right in front of Atkinson.

“He looked me right in the face and was just like peals of laughter. He said, ‘My person would be so proud of me.’”

Even when volunteers develop deep connections with their patients, many are surprised to find out that they are not allowed to contact the family after the patient’s death.

Volunteers can work with patients for a few months to almost a year, and it can be challenging to move on after establishing a relationship, Atkinson said. The policy is common among hospice facilities, established to protect both parties during the grieving process.

Providence, however, offers volunteers grieving support through quarterly check-ins and access to its grief support team.

Helping patients and families find moments of peace during the hardest times keeps volunteers engaged, despite the job's difficult nature, said Atkinson.

“Hospice doesn't mean you're ready to die; it means that you're ready to put comfort first. To be there for people, to make friendship bracelets, to read books, to talk about the Mariners, to watch movies. Volunteering for hospice can be something that really changes your life.” 

Elizah Lourdes Rendorio is a student in the University of Washington News Lab. She wrote this story for Beacon Publishing.