Submitted by Hospice of San Juans
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 include those with formal training, like nurses, nurses aides and health care aides. They also include those known as “informal caregivers,” who have little to no formal training, like home helpers, family members, neighbors and friends.
Frequently family and friends live far away or work or have other obligations, so people turn to paid caregivers, available in the community 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 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.
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 on May 6, May 20 and June 3 for free. Professional educators from multiple disciplines will 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 at www.hospiceofsanjuan.org. For further details, call 472-0322.
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.
