8/16/22 Waupun Resident Finds Satisfaction With SSM Health At Home Hospice Volunteering
16 August 2022 News
There are many reasons that people give their time to help others. Finding personal fulfillment. Giving it back. Showing their gratitude for what they have.
For Tim Teachout, a Waupun resident, serving hospice patients and families stems naturally following personal experiences, as well as his previous work at the Dodge Correctional Institution infirmary unit with inmates receiving hospice care. As a hospice volunteer, Tim’s main roles focus on companionship and medication runs.
“Before becoming a volunteer, I got involved with hospice when my father, mother, and wife received hospice care during their end-of-life journeys,” Tim explains. “One day, my cousin invited me to join her in becoming a hospice volunteer and I have been volunteering for our hospice program ever since.” That number now stands at nearly eight years, and more than 565 hours.
Tim appreciates being present to patients and their families to make their last days a little better.
“I find great reward in helping people and getting to know them,” he says. “There are a lot of interesting people in this world. I enjoy being present to listen to their stories. They give me as much as I can give. I learn from their life stories and lessons.
“A lot of people say they can’t do it ‘I can’t watch a person die,’” Tim adds, “but, I believe that life is part of death or death is a part of life. Either way, one just needs to build rapport.”
That rapport has led to many good memories for Tim. “I have special memories from a patient who had been a doctor. We had very long conversations and shared a lot of stories. I also spent time with a nonverbal patient who was able to communicate through her eyes. Her eyes spoke a million words and I could feel into her soul.”
As a volunteer, Tim doesn’t provide personal cares, but he is able to assist his patients “through prayer, conversations, walks, meals, readings, refilling bird feeders, etc.… many simple things that make a great difference in the lives of hospice patients.”
SSM Health at Home Hospice offers a supportive, palliative (comfort versus cure) and compassionate care program to patients who have a life-threatening illness, and do not want, or cannot proceed with, aggressive curative treatment.
There are many wonderful opportunities for those interested in volunteering, including providing companionship and emotional support, veteran recognition, pet therapy, assisting with respite and medication deliveries, assisting serving meals at the Hospice Home of Hope, and other patient and non-patient contact opportunities.
SSM Health at Home Hospice provides and extensive training program designed to equip volunteers for the varied types of service. Hospice in Fond du Lac and Green Lake areas are currently looking for more volunteers who are placed in their own geographic areas.
Being a hospice volunteer is a rewarding experience that allows individuals to share their gifts and talents, grow spiritually, learn new skills, belong to a caring team with a common goal, and much more.
Tim’s final advice to others? “Being a 24/7 caregiver is wearing, and hospice plays a very important role. I am very grateful for hospice services. You won’t know if you can be a hospice volunteer unless you try. Try it, get some experiences, and then determine if it is not for you.”
To learn more, contact Betty Walleser, SSM Health at Home Hospice volunteer coordinator, at 920-924-4662 or Beatriz.Walleser@ssmhealth.com.
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