When you volunteer at Hosparus Health, you should expect nothing less than the satisfying feeling you get when you make a real difference in someone’s life. Often, the volunteer experience gives people purpose and meaning. We were founded by volunteers more than 40 years ago and volunteer services continue to be at the heart of our organization.
Volunteers
Change someone’s life, including your own.
Volunteer Opportunities
Discover what’s best for you.
We’re grateful for our wonderful, selfless volunteers but we can always use more like them. If you’re thinking of volunteering, here are some ways you can help.
If working with patients directly is right for you, view the Patient Volunteers tab. If you’re interested in helping Hosparus Health in other ways, view Other Volunteer Opportunities tab.
Companionship Volunteer
Visit with a patient to provide companionship, relieve loneliness, and share interests. During your visit you will often sit and talk and may play games, cards, or read. As a volunteer you may be visiting a patient who does not have friends or family, or visiting while family is present.
Respite Volunteer
Respite care volunteers give short breaks to the patient’s family members and loved ones, whether in the home, nursing center, or the Hosparus Inpatient Care Center. The volunteer might sit with the patient for just a couple of hours so the family member or loved one can take a nap, make a trip to the store, or go out for a movie.
Bereavement Volunteers
Bereavement volunteers provide comfort to family members and loved ones by assisting Grief Counseling Center counselors with administrative tasks, community events, outreach and support groups.
11th Hour Volunteers
11th Hour Volunteers provide comfort to patients who are actively dying, typically in a nursing center or assisted living facility. These volunteers work on-call, so the hours vary greatly, including some weekends.
11th hour opportunities vary by community.
Inpatient Care Center (HICC) Volunteer
Inpatient Care Center volunteers help with a variety of tasks that may or may not be in direct contact with patients and their families. Our inpatient unit is located in downtown Louisville in the Norton pavilion. Some tasks may include administrative work, assisting the unit staff, or providing companionship to a patient.
Hosparus Health Thrift Shoppes
At our locations in Elizabethtown and Campbellsville, friendly volunteers help with sorting and pricing donations, placing and straightening items on the sales floor, and assisting customers.
CareMakers
CareMakers may create hand-crafted care blankets, memory bears, or patient mitts for our patients and their families.
Care blankets are often placed at the foot of the bed or in the patient’s lap for warmth and comfort. It’s a gift not just for the patient but for the family to keep.
Requirements:
– Care blankets are generally placed across the foot of the bed (over the patient’s lower legs and feet) or across the lap when sitting — the size should be approximately 3’ X 4’.
– Care Blankets should be clean, in new condition and from a non-smoking environment. No perfumes or other scents of any kind.
Please use caution if you have pets – materials and finished Care Blankets should be free from pet hair and smells.
– Quilted, crocheted, or knitted blankets are welcome.
– We have an ongoing need for veteran’s recognition care blankets. These are handmade blankets that are presented to a veteran in our care, usually by a volunteer who is also an armed forces veteran. The dying veteran is presented with a special certificate of recognition for their service and a patriotic or military theme blanket.
No volunteer training is required. Call 800-264-0521 to schedule a time to drop off your handmade blankets. We do track of the number of care blankets and time spent making them. In addition, we will ask for your address, phone number and/or email address.
Music Companion
Music companion volunteers offer the gift of music by singing, playing a stringed instrument, or sharing recorded music to soothe and comfort our patients.
Pet Therapy
If your pet is certified with an accredited animal assisted therapy service, our patients would love to meet them. They can visit patients in their homes, nursing centers, or the Hosparus Health Inpatient Care Center. Our therapy pets also love special events like birthday parties, fundraisers, or Kourageous Kids events.
Administration
As a nonprofit organization, we depend on administrative volunteers in the office to prepare mailings, help with special events, write note cards, make phone calls, and more. Hours vary.
Threshold Singers
Louisville Community Comfort Singers, a forming chapter of Threshold Choir International, meets the 1st and 3rd Thursdays at Hosparus Health, 7 to 8:30 PM.
We will be singing bedside in small ensembles to hospice patients and others in the community.
Some vocal skill is required, specifically being able to carry a tune and being able to hold your own part while others sing in harmony.
Sign up is required to attend rehearsals. Email bwhitman@hosparus.org to sign-up or learn more.
Get involved.
We regularly hold training events for volunteers throughout the region. If you’re thinking about becoming a volunteer, this is a good place to start. Volunteers aren’t required to have previous experience. Please reach out to us with any questions you may have.
FAQs
What immunizations are required to be a volunteer?
To ensure the safety of our patients and each other, all Hosparus Health staff and volunteers* are required to have the following immunizations:
- proof of being up to date with your Covid-19 vaccines.** (You are up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines when you have received all doses in the primary series.)
- Annually, during flu season (November 1 to March 31), submit flu immunization document.
**this does NOT apply to Thrift Shoppe volunteers.
We’ll instruct you on how to securely submit immunization documents at a later date, prior to attending training.
Volunteers who come into direct contact with patients are required to complete an online TB Risk Assessment, and complete 2 separate TB skin tests, at least 1 week apart, to rule out any false results. Hosparus Health will provide this testing at no charge to you. Annually, patient companion volunteers must complete the online TB Risk Assessment.
Is a background check required for all volunteers?
Yes. We will conduct the background check after you attend training and cover the cost.
Is an interview required after applying?
We want to know more about you and how you would like to serve, as well as give you time to ask us questions. A volunteer manager may reach out within the process for an interview, although for some volunteer positions, such as thrift shoppe volunteers, it may simply be a quick check-in and introduction.
Do I need a COVID vaccine to volunteer?
Not all volunteer opportunities require a COVID vaccine.
The following DO require one: patient care volunteer, respite volunteer, patient companion, administrative.
What is the time commitment to volunteer?
We kindly ask our volunteers to commit to a minimum of 24 hours of service per year. This amounts to only 2 hours per month.
What is required for volunteer training/orientation?
Submit a volunteer application to let us know you’d like to get started.
After we receive your application, we’ll be in touch to schedule training (if it’s required for the position you are interested in).
Prior to attending training, we’ll let you know how to submit any required immunizations, as well as provide you with details about completing some brief, on-line modules.
Do you have volunteer stories I can view to understand what volunteering is like?
Of course! Check out our volunteers in action in these stories and videos
Still have questions?
If you’re not ready to apply and need more information, fill out the form below and a volunteer coordinator will be in touch
Volunteer Stories
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Hosparus Health and WAGS Pet Therapy Volunteers
- Volunteer
Written By Volunteer Ann Duffin Hosparus Health and WAGS work together to provide compassionate care for those impacted by serious…