Volunteers fill a special role at a nursing facility. Volunteers who are properly trained and supervised provide a valuable service. Examples of such service include:

1. Friendly 'Visiting'
2. Reading Writing letters for residents Participating in special recreational or craft activities Helping with a wide variety of social functions Entertaining (through music or other venues) Distributing mail, ice water, newspapers etc. Assisting in religious services or Bible studies.

In general, a volunteer can assist with services designed to contribute to the mental, social, spiritual and emotional well-being of residents in ways which supplement, but do not replace, the regular job responsibilities of a facility's staff.

Volunteers bring residents a taste of the community and improve the quality of life. Be an active volunteer; your acts really do contribute positively to the openness of a facility and ensures 'interaction' between the community and the nursing home.

Rules to live by for volunteering:

1. Understand the job you undertake
2. Accept training appreciatively, and contribute your own experience
3. Match your interests to the needs about you and the job
4. Serve faithfully, and report new insights about your work
5. Open yourself to opportunities for growth in skill, sympathy, self-confidence and responsibility
6. Value your special two-way role as a community interpreter
7. Contribute to supervision by self-evaluation and a willingness to ask questions
8. Give loyalty to your facility and its program
9. Take problems to the administration
10. Take pride in your work
11. A promise made to a resident should be a promise kept
12. Do not be in a hurry
13. Move at the resident's pace
14. Always be a good listener

If you are interested in volunteering, contact an IHCA member facility in your community. By giving a small amount of your time, you will make a huge impact on the lives of local nursing home patients.