"CELEBRATE LIFE!" Become a Pet Therapy Volunteer for a Hospice Patients - Lake County, OH

The opportunity below is for an unpaid volunteer position with Bella Care Hospice.

Bella Care Hospice provides compassionate care to patients - and their families - during and after the final stage of their life. Volunteers serve an important purpose by giving their time.

Bella Care has patients in the Euclid area that could benefit from a volunteer to provide pet therapy.

Volunteers are needed who are able to spend a minimum of 1 hour per week with our patients.

Volunteers must provide their own therapy animal. Both the volunteer and the therapy animal must satisfy certain requirements described below.

Volunteers must be 18 years of age, have their own transportation (and insurance, if appropriate), pass a background investigation and a tuberculosis test (both provided by Bella Care Hospice), and successfully complete volunteer orientation and training (also provided by Bella Care Hospice). Therapy animals must be certified through an appropriate organization (Pet Partners, Therapy Dogs International, AKC Therapy Dog Program and Therapy Dogs Incorporated), current with vaccinations, and pass an assessment for compatibility with specific hospice patients.

The ideal volunteer candidate does not need experience; instead, they need patience, compassion, and concern for their companion.

Volunteers must: be respectful of patients, staff, and other volunteers they interact with; complete their scheduled visits or reschedule them promptly; document their visits appropriately; follow Bella Care's policies and legal requirements.

Bella Care Hospice is required by Federal law to have a volunteer program for our patients. Volunteers serve as companions - and often friends - for our patients, many of whom may only be visited by our volunteers.

Volunteers provide an impartial person for the patient to socialize with. Hospice volunteers usually experience a great deal of satisfaction from their service and usually develop strong emotional bonds with the patients they visit. Some earn community service credit for volunteering while others gain valuable experience and contacts in the health care industry.