July 8, 2011
‘Prayer and Presence Program’ needs volunteers
Prayer and Presence is a program for Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center’s patients and their loved ones to use the time of suffering, illness and dying as a path to wholeness. This program is for patients who are seriously ill, undergoing chemotherapy treatments, or may die within the near future, and have few, if any, family members or support persons and would benefit from having companions who would provide presence and prayer.
The service was made available to patients and their families in January of 2011 following the recruitment and training of over 30 volunteers. The Prayer and Presence program has been implemented for five people who have died while patients at Memorial Hospital.
Volunteers for Prayer and Presence will go through the screening and orientation pro-cess required of all hospital volunteers. Each potential volunteer will also be interviewed individually by one of the Prayer and Presence Core Team members in July or early August.
Those candidates who are accepted as volunteers for the Prayer and Presence program will be required to attend six two-hour training sessions. These six sessions will cover a variety of topics that will equip the volunteer to feel comfortable in their role at the bedside of a seriously ill or dying person.
To find out more information about Prayer and Presence at Memorial Hospital, please contact Sister Rose Mary Rexing at 812-481-0198 or rrexing@mhhcc.org.