Caregiver/Volunteer Training

Training for caregivers and new volunteers to be offered by Hospice of San Juan

Caregivers help vulnerable people remain in their homes in the face of conditions that otherwise would obligate them to move off island or into a care facility. These caregivers range from those with formal training (nurses, nurses aides, health care aides) to those who have little to no formal training (home helpers/companions, family members, neighbors, friends), referred to in the industry as “informal caregivers”. Frequently family and friends live far away or work or have other obligations, so people turn to paid caregivers available in the community in order to maintain independence as long as possible. Although some caregivers receive training and certification to perform needed tasks, many are thrust into the job without much warning and are at risk for personal harm.

Hospice of San Juan regularly trains volunteers on issues and conditions that affect vulnerable people, since one of our primary services is caregiver respite. We have witnessed caregivers or companions in homes who need such training in order to protect themselves and their clients from injury. Additionally, we frequently receive requests from families for paid caregivers, which is not within our scope of practice since we are an all-volunteer organization.

In order to address the community need for trained home caregivers/companions, we plan to offer a combined training program this Spring for both new volunteers and on-island caregivers who currently do not have formal training. For the first time ever, Hospice of San Juan will offer caregiver (home helper/companion) training alongside its volunteer training May 6, 20 and June 3 at no charge to attendees. Professional educators from multiple disciplines lead the sessions, and those successfully completing training will receive a Certificate of Completion. Advance registration is required; a registration form is available on our website www.hospiceofsanjuan.org. For further details, call 472-0322 and leave a message requesting that our Training Coordinator contact you.

Hospice of San Juan is an independent, non-sectarian, non-profit organization. Our funding comes from individual donations and locally awarded grants. All services are free of charge.

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