Hospice Volunteering: A Case Study

This is an important topic because of the direct impact volunteer programs have on patient care in hospice facilities. These Medicare guidelines affect hospice agencies, volunteer coordinators, interdisciplinary teams, volunteers, and hospice patients/families. Studies have shown that offering quality care would be difficult for palliative care programs without volunteer services (Coyne, 2017). Traditionally, volunteers have played a crucial role in palliative care and the need is growing (Sévigny et al.). For hospice organizations related to volunteering, “having a well-defined mandate and standards for quality improves their credibility with health care organizations, health care professionals, as well as funders” (Guirguis-Youngers, Kelley,