Hospice Volunteers Win Governor’s Award
(GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA)– The 200+ volunteers of Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro (HPCG) have received a Governor’s Volunteer Service Award. This honor, created by the Office of the Governor in 1979, recognizes North Carolina’s most dedicated volunteers.
“Our volunteers are so deserving of this award,” said Teresa Canady, director of volunteer services at HPCG. “When our volunteer team receives a request from a patient or family, we never say ‘no.’ We always say ‘we will try’ because we know our volunteers will come through and generously accept nearly any request in order to help a patient and family.”
This past year, HPCG volunteers donated a combined 13,365 hours of service. These hours included caregiver relief, patient companionship, cake baking, gardening, administrative assistance, special projects, transportation, event assistance, outreach, facility visits, Veteran-to-Veteran visits, pet therapy and music therapy.
HPCG was founded by a small group of grassroots volunteers in 1980. Even as hospice care has evolved and become highly specialized—utilizing doctors, nurses, counselors, social workers and chaplains—Medicare preserved the role of volunteers; every hospice is required to demonstrate that 5 percent of all care hours are provided by trained volunteers. Yet HPCG regularly exceeds this requirement.
Most often this service comes in the form of regular visits to a hospice patient’s home or facility, during which time the volunteer may run errands, read to the patient, engage in friendly conversation or simply offer quiet presence. Hospice volunteers provide much-needed relief for family caregivers and meaningful connection for patients.
“I hear so many wonderful stories about how transformative a family’s relationship with a volunteer has been,” said Kristen Yntema, president and CEO of HPCG. “From our beautiful gardens, to our handwritten thank-you cards, to our smoothly-run events and so much more, we have our volunteers to thank.”
To receive a Governor’s Volunteer Service Award, each North Carolina County submits ten nominees across a variety of categories. The governor’s office then narrows this down to 20-25 award recipients across the state. Awards are expected to be distributed during National Volunteer Week, April 7-13.
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About HPCG
HPCG is a nonprofit organization that serves an average of 350 patients per day in Guilford County and surrounding areas. It is situated on a 14.75 acre campus at 2500 Summit Avenue. Since 1980, HPCG has been providing physical, emotional and spiritual support for children and adults faced with a life-limiting illness, as well as their caregivers and families. For more information, call 336.621.2500 or visit www.hospicegso.org.