The Value of Volunteers

Junior volunteers pose proudly with the LifeCare "Caring Cart"
filled with magazines, activity books, and other items that help brighten
the day of hospital patients. The service is free to all inpatients.

Anyone who has volunteered time and energy to a worthy cause understands the rewards of such actions are not measured in dollars, but in ways of far greater value.
At LifeCare Medical Center, an outstanding group of volunteers is ready and eager to provide a helping hand anytime it’s needed.
Call them the LifeCare volunteers.
They come in all sizes, varying in age from eight to eighty years old, and the good they do is often immeasurable.
Looking back, local volunteers have help extend the reach of medical care arguably since the beginning of rural medicine.
Formally, they have done so since 1955.
That’s when the first organizational meeting was held to select an executive board for the Roseau Health Care Auxiliary, a group of women volunteers dedicated to assisting the Roseau hospital.
At the time, the auxiliary consisted of 200 members from 26 groups, each representing area townships.
These women raised funds through bake sales and a host of other inventive means all in the name of local healthcare.
“The funds raised helped pay for things the hospital was unable to purchase on its own,” says Joyce Ulvin, Auxiliary Corresponding Secretary. “In the ‘50s, that

A group of junior volunteers helps residents of LifeCare Roseau Manor dress teddy bears that eventually will be given to children who are admitted to the hospital.

included anything from a new operating table to a dryer for the laundry department.”
Today, the auxiliary is still going strong, boasting approximately 80 members and recruiting more. And their message of volunteering has taken off in ways the group’s founders could have only hoped.
LifeCare now has an an entire department dedicated to matching up community volunteers with those most in need of their help.
The department is known as Volunteer Services and it oversees more than 300 volunteers throughout Roseau County. Pam Sando and Terry Lamppa are the Volunteer Coordinators in Roseau while Stacy Hahn oversees the volunteers in Greenbush. Office clerk Kristi Ness keeps everyone on track by managing volunteer files, statistics, and other duties.
LifeCare volunteers donate anywhere from one hour a day to one hour a year, but as Lamppa puts it, “every minute has value.”
Whether it’s assisting with a health fair or spending a few quiet moment with a patient at the hospital, the need is filled thanks to Volunteer Services.
“It’s absolutely amazing to me that someone always steps up whenever we need a hand,” says Lamppa, now in her tenth year at the hospital. “Our volunteers take great pride in the work they do, and we take even

greater pride in them.”
Indeed, as the department demonstrates by hosting appreciation events for its volunteers. During the winter holidays, LifeCare provided a private screening at the Roseau movie theater.
“The volunteers enjoyed the special movie complete with popcorn and refreshments as a small token of our appreciation for their valuable contributions,” Lamppa says.
Other perks for volunteers includes free flu shots, discounted memberships at the LifeCare Wellness Center, and more.

Proper training Before starting a task, every volunteer is properly trained and allowed to job shadow, so there is a complete comfort level from the very start.
Volunteers also go through an orientation program that addresses issues like proper protocol and patient confidentiality.
“All this allows them to find the job they like,” Sando says. “It’s our duty to find the right people for the right jobs, and by interviewing each new volunteer and providing these steps, we have a system that works very well.”
“There is always work to be done in the name of healthcare,” Sando says.
“Our department prides itself in making LifeCare even better with the help of our dedicated team of volunteers.”

Volunteerism as a Ministry

   Faith communities are a great place to practice volunteerism. But where does someone without the gift of teaching, music, or public speaking find a way to volunteer?
   One solution is LifeCare’s Volunteer Visitation Ministry, which includes visiting, listening, encouraging, and helping others.
   “People with chronic pain or disease often have a hard time attending worship services,” explains LifeCare’s Parish Nurse Coordinator, Colleen Klamar, RN. “By matching up people who love to visit with those who need to be visited, we create a system that enables people to stay connected to their church family.”
   Once connected, volunteers share an hour or two per week or maybe an hour or two per month with their senior friend, says Klamar, who trains the groups.
   Examples of these welcome services include making friendly visits, reading, running small errands, visiting by phone, helping write letters or emails, performing simple chores, or driving to appointments or services.
   Volunteer visitors are organized into Care Teams that after completing the initial training session, meet monthly to discuss issues and continue education.
   “Having a Volunteer Visitation Ministry provides opportunities to show your faith and service. It extends pastoral care to people in the congregation who may be hard to reach,” she says.
   “The homebound are able to stay in touch with their faith community during a time when spiritual care is just as important as physical and emotional care.”
To learn more, contact Colleen Klamar RN, Parish Nurse Coordinator at
(218) 463-4751 or cklamar@lifecaremc.com.

Volunteers & Hospice

   One area where a special kind of volunteer is needed is within LifeCare’s Hospice program. As part of a team providing end-of-life care to the terminally ill and their family, these volunteers provide greatly appreciated services
including compassion, friendship, and even basic housekeeping activities so that a family can make the very most of the time they have left together.
   “Hospice treats people, not illness. Our focus is on care not a cure,” says Shawny Prevost, RN, LifeCare Hospice Coordinator.
   That is why clients are referred to the Hospice program when they reach a stage of life where no medical cure exists.
The hospice team takes a holistic approach to care by addressing the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of a client and their loved ones, Prevost explains.
   This exceptional kind of care can occur in a client’s home, the hospital, long term care, or assisted living facility.
   “The most rewarding part of being a member of the Hospice Team is the joy of visiting with clients and their families,” Prevost says.
   Hospice clients receive visits from the trained hospice team members which may include volunteers, a social worker, a chaplain, home care aides, or nurses.
   A registered nurse will assist clients with medication management in addition to hospice equipment and supplies.
Primary care physicians are also part of the hospice team and work with other staff to develop a plan of care individualized to the client’s needs.
   In addition to medical care and respite, visits are made as needed to provide support, and education to clients and their families.

The dedication of LifeCare hospice volunteer Lael Anderson is represented by her work as a bereavement correspondent.

   In addition to medical care and respite, visits are made as needed to provide support, and education to clients and their families.