After reports of the current state of healthcare throughout the province, new volunteers at a local hospital program have a desire to help where they can.
The Hospital Elders Life Program (HELP) at Cambridge Memorial Hospital resumed earlier this year in May. The program aims to prevent delirium in geriatric patients by providing companionship, meal assistance, therapy assistance and mental stimulation through volunteers.
Hilary Ferguson, elder life specialist, said there is a mix of veteran and new volunteer to the program. With shortages and people who are off sick at hospitals across the province, Ferguson agrees new volunteers coming to HELP were motivated to find ways they could support healthcare organizations like CMH.
"We have a couple (new) volunteers, who have had loved ones that have been in the hospital, and they see the importance of either the program, or we've had people who have had loved ones at other hospitals who've said, 'Oh, I wish I this program would've been available to my mother,' or, 'I wish this program had been available to my loved one because I think it is so beneficial,'" said Ferguson.
"So I think there is definitely a group of volunteers who, throughout the pandemic, have kind of had this calling to help out where they think they can, and have a new interest in healthcare and seeing where they can help."
Hearing positive things from clinical staff and patient families about the volunteers, Ferguson adds HELP members are an added 'touch point' in the care.
"They are able to do things which to us seem simple, like opening up a package, or getting someone a drink of water, or a warm blanket," said Ferguson, "these are things the nurses do as well, but this is like an extra touch point for the patients to have those needs met."
Participating in HELP for 11 years, veteran volunteer Mary Elloway said she is working back to volunteering more than one day a week. Elloway adds HELP is her favourite volunteer program and seeing patients progress.
"We're not only helping a patient, it's helping us too because when a patient is happy, we're happy. When they go home, we'll miss them, but we'll be happy too."
With the return of the program, HELP hopes to return to the normal numbers by offering more training sessions for new volunteers. Currently, the program has 17 volunteers when it usually has over 50.
As more patients get referred to HELP, Ferguson said it would be ideal to have volunteers seeing patients three times a day. The next training session for new volunteers is taking place in January 2023.
"The role is back to where it was and that is so important because it is an evidence-based program and we want ot be offering what the program is designed to do," said Ferguson.
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