Volunteer with Kaiser Permanente Hospice
At Kaiser Permanente, we believe that volunteers embody the spirit of hospice — that patients should not be alone at the end of life.
Our hospice volunteers play a critical role in supporting patients. In fact, many of our volunteers are people who benefitted from volunteer support when they cared for a loved one on hospice. People who have experienced hospice uniquely know how important these weeks and months are for you and your loved one. It takes a special calling to be with someone when they are dying.
With help from people like you, we can ensure that families have a helping hand when they need it most. Volunteers can help in many ways.
Volunteers may
- Provide emotional support and companionship to the patient and their loved ones
- Spend time with the patient and their loved ones
- Give caregivers a break to rest, run errands, etc.
- Help serve meals, play card or board games, or do light housekeeping, like dishwashing
- Support hospice staff in the office
Volunteers cannot
- Provide direct medical care, like measuring or administering medications
- Provide direct personal care, such as bathing
- Perform regular, heavy housework
Our Volunteer Program
At Kaiser Permanente, we want to make sure our volunteers have successful visits with patients. Potential applicants are carefully selected and trained, so they can have an immediate impact at their first visit to a patient’s home.
Our comprehensive volunteer training program involves:
- filling out our application
- providing references
- ensuring immunizations are up-to-date
- attending training sessions
These tasks can delay volunteering right away as they can take several months to complete. However, feedback has told us that it ensures new volunteers have successful, safe, and fulfilling visits with hospice patients.
We do our best to match volunteers with patients in convenient locations with similar interests. Volunteers do not always need to visit a patient’s home, but may be able to help with office work at some hospice locations.
Our volunteers try to visit a patient and family about once a week.
How to Become a Volunteer
To apply for the Kaiser Permanente Hospice Volunteer Program, you must meet the above requirements and submit an application. All applications are reviewed and approved based on the need, as determined by the individual Kaiser Permanente Hospice Volunteer Services Departments. Not all applicants are accepted.
Hospice Volunteer Programs
Hayward Hospice
(510) 675-5777
Martinez Hospice
(925) 229-7800
Oakland Hospice
(510) 752-6390
Redwood City Hospice
(650) 299-3971
Roseville Hospice
(916) 486-5300
Sacramento Hospice
(916) 486-5300
San Francisco Hospice
(415) 833-3655
San Jose Hospice
(408) 361-2150
South Sacramento Hospice
(916) 486-5300
Santa Clara Hospice
(408) 235-4100
Vallejo Hospice
(707) 645-2385