Arbor Hospice Volunteers Support Patients, Families in Washtenaw County

As National Volunteer Week approaches, Arbor Hospice is highlighting the role volunteers play in supporting patients and families across Washtenaw County.

From sitting with patients to offering companionship, volunteers help provide comfort and relief during some of life’s most difficult moments.

“Volunteers are really the heart of what we do,” said Ruth Moore-Lilly, volunteer program manager for Arbor Hospice.

Arbor Hospice serves patients facing serious illness, with a focus on comfort and quality of life. Volunteers work alongside nurses, social workers and other staff members to meet a range of needs.

That support can take many forms.

Some volunteers spend time talking with patients, reading aloud or simply sitting quietly so no one is alone. Others provide respite visits, giving caregivers a chance to run errands, attend appointments or take a short break. Volunteers may also share music with patients or, in some cases, connect veterans with fellow veterans. Arbor Hospice also offers other ways to help, including office support, community outreach and grief support roles for people who do not want direct patient visits.

John Whitney Prince, who goes by his middle name, Whitney, has volunteered with Arbor Hospice for about four years. After first visiting patients in their homes and small group homes, he now regularly visits residents at the Saline Evangelical Home.

Prince said his own experience with hospice care first drew him to the work. Both of his parents and his sister received hospice support before they died, and he said the care his sister received in Michigan left a lasting impression.

He recalled that music visits meant a great deal to his sister during the last months of her life. If a musician did not know a song she wanted to hear, he said, they would practice it and come back the next week to perform it.

On his own visits, Prince may talk with residents, listen to music, read or simply sit and hold a hand.

“And if not, we’ll often just listen to music, or I’ll read to them, or even just sit with them and hold their hand, just kind of whatever seems appropriate for that person and that day,” he said.

Prince said the work is not as difficult as some people may expect.

“It’s not always sadness,” he said. “There’s a lot of joy, there’s a lot of fun. So it’s not hard, it really does feed the soul.”

He recalled one recent visit with a resident who asked about his mother. When Prince told her his mother had died six years earlier, he said she replied, “Oh, that’s a long time without a mother. Can I adopt you?”

At other times, the connection is quieter.

Prince described visiting one man who is nonverbal and reaches for his hand as soon as he enters the room.

“Sometimes you just sit there and hold hands, and it’s really very touching, very moving,” Prince said. “You can tell that the people who we are visiting, they really want connection.”

Moore-Lilly said Arbor Hospice has about 150 volunteers serving in different roles, but the organization is always looking for more, especially in the greater Ann Arbor area and for pet visits.

Volunteers must be at least 18 to serve independently, or 16 with a parent or guardian. Moore-Lilly said no special background is required beyond a willingness to serve others and a commitment of about a year.

For Prince, the experience has been deeply rewarding.

“You’ll likely get back more than you give,” he said.

Arbor Hospice is currently seeking volunteers in Washtenaw County and surrounding areas. More information about volunteer opportunities is available at ArborHospice.org.

Featured image: Arbor Hospice volunteers gather with therapy dogs during a community event. Photo provided by Arbor Hospice