Senior Voice -

‘Ins and Outs of Medicare’ presentation

Feeling confused about your Medicare options and worried about what you’ll do when open enrollment starts up on October 15? Join us for our free monthly educational presentation by Nila Morgan, Medicare Counselor, to learn the ins and outs of your Medicare options. The presentation will be September 25 from 3 to 4 p.m. here at Hospice of Anchorage, 2612 E. Northern Lights Blvd. Call us at 561-5322 to RSVP and save your spot.

Volunteer with Hospice of Anchorage

Hospice of Anchorage is in search of some dedicated volunteers. We could not serve the Anchorage community the way we do without our amazing volunteers. Throughout the year we have opportunities for both event volunteers as well as Compassionate Companion volunteers who provide care and support for our patients. Some of the upcoming fall events we would love help with include the Fall Health Fair Series as well as Remembrance Tree. These are one-time (or more!) commitments that are great for someone with just a few hours to give. Call us at 561-5322 for more information.

If you’ve thought about volunteering in some way but are not sure what you have to offer, consider the words written by one of our newest volunteers, Mitchell Davidson:

I get to volunteer with Hospice of Anchorage. But I don’t have much to give.

There are individuals with financial means that enable exceptional care and services for people approaching the end of life. There are nurses, massage therapists, musicians, and other trained individuals that provide wonderful services using the skills they’ve developed. There are extroverted individuals and gifted socialites that bring the comfort of people to the homebound. There are retirees who have time in abundance who spend that precious resource in service to others.

I am not one of those people gifted with any of these things to excess. But I do have a couple of bucks in my pocket. I can plunk a few chords on a guitar. I can keep up a conversation, sometimes. There always seems to be a free hour in my week. Or two hours. Or a half an hour. At the end of the week, it’s always been enough.

It’s been enough to eat a sandwich with a friend that doesn’t get out of the house much. It’s been enough to play a bit of guitar and sing poorly, and laugh, and laugh. It’s been enough to talk about the weather. Sometimes not to talk at all. It’s been enough to be there.

And while I might look back on a week and see the minutes or hours I’ve wasted dinking around on Facebook, or reading another bit of bad news online, not once have I regretted giving a bit of myself to help someone else. Not the least bit. And someday, I hope someone might take a half an hour to sit on my couch and eat a sandwich with me.

Our Compassionate Companion volunteer program is an incredible opportunity for individuals to truly give back to our community by providing care and support for fellow Alaskans. As a volunteer hospice, we provide in-home support in the form of nursing, social work, and volunteers for individuals and families in the Anchorage area with some kind of life-limiting illness. Our Compassionate Companions do anything from providing social support, to light house-keeping, to playing music that brings joy and life into the homes of our patients. We ask for a year commitment of about an hour every week, or every other week, to provide consistency for patients. All our Compassionate Companions must go through screening and training. Training is typically held twice a year, with the next program on Sept. 5 and Sept. 7.

Call 561-5322 and talk to Sarah to get signed up.