Volunteers help sustain hospice care in Vorarlberg

Hospice Vorarlberg cared for about 1,000 patients last year, with nearly 300 volunteers helping provide support, ORF reports. The service says it needs more volunteer hospice companions, particularly in its regional teams.

Volunteers deliver meals, help patients eat, support relatives and make time for conversations. Thomas Matt, who has volunteered at the Hospiz am See hospice three times a month for two years, said that sometimes simply spending time with patients is enough.

He said the hospice is not a place defined only by illness, death and grief. There are many positive encounters, he said, and laughter on the ward. “It is life, but life in its final stages,” he said.

Volunteers also provide support at home, in hospitals and in nursing homes. The six regional hospice teams in Bregenz, Dornbirn, Bregenzerwald and Kleinwalsertal, Feldkirch, Götzis and Bludenz cared for 824 patients across Vorarlberg last year.

Ulrike Metzler visits Dietrich Klapper at his home one afternoon a week. She has done so for three years, after his wife died. Klapper said their conversations about anything and everything had been “almost healing” and did his soul good.

Volunteers must complete a training course offered twice a year, in Bregenz in January and in Feldkirch in autumn. Each course has about 18 places and includes 100 hours of theory and 40 hours of practical training, said Margarita Matt, head of the hospice teams at Caritas.

Hospice Vorarlberg says volunteers are essential to its work, bringing a particular closeness and attention to people in need. Many are retired and looking for a new role, but the service is also seeking younger volunteers, especially for its children’s and youth hospice programme. Men are particularly sought.

Regular supervision sessions with regional coordinators are available to help volunteers process the emotional demands of the work. Thomas Matt said the encounters also helped him reflect on his experiences and learn about life.