Senior Companion (Pen Pal or Telecare)

Volunteer as a senior companion by providing friendly phone calls or operating as a Pen Pal! Many of our senior or disabled community members and neighbors are isolated during this time to help protect them from the spread of COVID. We can help them by providing friendly phone calls or writing letters. The emphasis is on comfort and enhancing their quality of life! As a volunteer, you help these clients and their families live each day a little less isolated and with a friend.

We currently partner with The Society, Hattie Larlham, Direction Home, Meals on Wheels, and Hospice of the Western Reserve to provide these calls and letters. With some of these opportunities, you can write to a specific individual, or just make general cards for the public. There are four types of calls that can be made:

1. Social Calls: Call a client, patient, or family member on a weekly basis depending on their needs. Provide socialization to the client, patient, or family and build a supportive relationship through phone calls.
2. Supply Calls: Call a patient or family in a hospice program mid-week each week to check on what equipment, medications, and supplies they may need for the weekend, and communicate needs to the primary care team.
3. Cardio-Pulmonary Calls: Call a patient or family who has heart failure, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or chronic asthma every weekend in hospice care or palliative care. Ask a series of questions regarding their symptoms and report concerns to the primary care team or triage office after hours.