Volunteers and Guidelines for Medication Administration

Hello, We are honored that you have entrusted your care or the care of your loved one with us. We are committed to ensuring the best care and are proud to have a team of dedicated, compassionate, and highly trained people to serve you. As a part of your care, we have volunteers who are available to you and can provide the additional support and assistance that you may need during your time with us.

We often hear how our volunteers make a positive difference in our patients and their families’ lives. Our volunteers go through an extensive screening and training process and are skilled to help you in many ways. Among many things that they can do for you, they are able to provide companionship, be a supportive presence, offer respite to caregivers, and run errands for you and your family.

Volunteers are assigned to a patient and their family and generally come to your place of residence one time a week for up to four hours per visit. Once assigned, we ask that you let your volunteer know how they can best help you. Although our volunteers can do many things in your home, they are not able to administer over the counter or prescription medications. Here are some guidelines to help you plan your time when your volunteer is with you in the event that medication needs to be administered.

• If medication is needed by the patient during the caregiver’s absence, the caregiver may pre-pour and place it within the reach of the patient so he/she can take their own medication. • Volunteers may guide patient’s hand to a cup or remind a patient to take their medication, pour water, or note the time that the medication was taken. • In the event that a patient cannot take their medication on their own, please have a contingency plan in place that designates a person responsible for administering the medications. You will need to provide the name and contact person to the volunteer.

We are privileged that you have chosen us to walk alongside you in your journey and strive to provide you the best care during this time. Because many of our volunteers have been former caregivers, they truly understand what you are experiencing. If you would like the services of a volunteer, please ask your primary nurse or social worker for a referral. With their willingness to serve and their compassionate heart, they can be the support and help that you may need to make things a bit better or the load a little lighter for you and your family. We hope that you will invite a volunteer into your home and experience the benefit of having them be a part of your care.

Sincerely,

Christine Wilson Director of Advancement and Volunteer Services

VOLUNTEER GUIDELINES FOR MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION

1. Volunteers are not permitted to administer medication of any kind, (including over the counter) to patients while performing their duties as patient care volunteers.

2. If medication will be needed by the patient during the caregiver’s absence, the caregiver may pre-pour and label medication, place it within the reach of the patient so he/she can self-medicate when necessary. Volunteers may guide patient’s hand to cup, but not pass medication. They may remind the patient that it is time to take medication, pour a cup of water to drink with medication, and note the time that the patient took the medication. 3. In the event that a patient cannot self-medicate, the family will be asked to have a contingency plan specifying who the volunteer can call to administer medications.

a. A letter explaining the role of the volunteer on the interdisciplinary team will be in the admissions packet given to the family. It will contain the policy regarding medication administration and include a contingency plan form, which the family can complete and use if necessary. The primary nurse will place it in the blue book in the patient’s home. The volunteer will keep a copy for her information.

b. The volunteer will also inform the family of this policy during the initial contact. c. The contingency plan will be noted in the patient’s chart.

4. If people specified in the contingency plan are unavailable when needed, the volunteer will call the triage nurse in the Hospice office during normal working hours and the on-call nurse after hours and note this in the volunteer progress note.