General Service Training

Volunteering to work is one of the rewarding. You have to be a very special person to do special work. To volunteer to serve God to serve these people is a blessing from God people.

People That Can't Go To The Lord

1 Thessalonians:
1:2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers:
1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
1:4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.
1:5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men were among you for your sake.
1:6 And ye became followers of us, and the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.

Do you just walk in the door?

You must first of all remember without God's help we cannot do the work. The blessing you receive is when the residents smile and ask you back. Even then you could not do this if you where in charge. The blessing comes from God all mighty and you are doing his work. You cannot get them to heaven, but they only can go threw Jesus Christ our Lord. That die on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead three day later.

The people you see before you go to the residents.

First, here is a little information about the facility you are about to walk threw their doors. Their staff provides the residents with license people threw the state. Licensed Administrator's assisted by Director of Nursing. The activities and social services programs are coordinated and implemented by qualified Activities and Social Services Director's. The office personnel and efficient and secure environment for the residents. Doctors, Registered Nurse's (RN), License Practice Nurse's (LPN), Certified Nursing Assistant's (CAN), Certified Medical Assistant's (CMA), Cafeteria People, Maintenance People, Volunteer', Hospitals, Mental Health, Physical Therapist, Medicine, Dietitians, Laundry, Bath Teams, Hair Dressers, Janitorial, State Inspectors, Fire Inspectors, Law Enforcement, Attorneys, Light Company, Gas Company, Overseer of Residents Care and Payments, Churches, Trips, Family Support, ect. . This is not all the people involved with in the special care. To ensure an efficient and secure environment for the residents. Remember these facilities are these people's home and for allot their last home on this earth.

Some Requirements Expected

Nursing and rehabilitation Centers does require volunteer workers to meet a certain age. They must possess the sincere desire to work with inform and aged residents. Must possess the ability to follow instructions, written and oral, and willing to cooperate with department managers and other personnel. That can help you in your quest to help those in need. A volunteer must have patience, tact, a cheerful disposition and enthusiasm. It takes a good Christian and everything else will fall into place.

Are We Rewarded?

Volunteer work is done on your time to give yourself personal satisfaction. It helps you build up your self-esteem. This can help you in your doing work for the Lord. This experience working with people that can help you in the ministry. It shows leadership working with co-workers doing what God my leads us to.

The nursing homes volunteer work leads you to not only working in the spiritual Service. But help with holidays, activities (Bingo, Reading, Trips, Take Outside, Walk Inside, Crafts, Coloring, Knitting and Much More). They recognize of volunteer work as an essential part of the family care facility. You are rewarded for everything you do. Try it and you come up with the rewards you receive.

Opportunities

Ok you are set to give what you feel your best talented in, and maybe more. There are a lot of areas you can choose from. Remember you volunteer on your flexible hours day or days convenient for you. Ask the Activities Director if there is a special job she or he may need that day. Make a commitment and keep it. Because remember the residents of the facility are their waiting for you.

Important Information

Once you have decided where you want to volunteer, you need to review a few facts about working with the residents.

Wear I.D. to identify yourself to residents and staff.
Sign in and out of the nursing home, and keep track of time and hours. And you may want to keep track of each person, so you can learn them as individuals. Most of all to pray for them.
When dealing with information concerning the resident remember to keep it confidential and do not discuss it outside of the facility. The staff as well as the residents are trusting you not to violate their rights by repeating anything you hear.
If you want to take a resident out of the facility. Make sure to clear it with the proper people in charge of their well being. And tell the Charge Nurse, then sign the resident out.
Be totally aware of the resident's special needs, and be able to handle what they need when signing out and taking responsibility for them. Don't let this handicap you in your decision to take them out. Just take the time to help them in further needs.
Notify the Charge Nurse of any accident involving the resident or change in the resident's condition.
Remember to wash after you are done with each one. You could be the culprit of staff infection and could contribute to the health and well being of each and every person that you come in contact with.
For your protection, don't accept gifts or money from the residents. To do so would create harmful effects, in which case you should consult with the Activities Coordinator or respective department head. Notify the Activities Director is a resident requests assistance in cashing checks or other financial transaction. Don't try and undertake any task that involves direct resident care or that your supervisor has not permitted.

For example:

Do Not walk with a resident you are not certain is steady on their feet before checking with someone on the Nursing Staff.

Do Not remove safety restraints (belts or vest) as these are used for the resident's protection.

Before giving any resident food or something to drink please check with the Charge Nurse. These restrictions might include sugar or salt, fluids. Or they may have difficulty in swallowing and are restricted to soft drinks.

Request staff assistance when a resident requires lifting, transferring or going to the bathroom.

Any request that you are uncertain of should be passed on to a member of the Nursing Staff or Activities Director.

Check in with Activities Coordinator or designated staff member upon arrival.

Knock on all (open or closed) doors and wait for response before entering.

Leave room if a doctor or nurse desires to see or treat a resident.
Do not enter the room that is posted "Isolation" or "No Visitors".

Helpful Hints With Communication

You may be pretty nervous when you first start volunteering because you are afraid you might not know what to say or how to act around the residents. But soon you will learn there is nothing to it, just be yourself.

To help you out, here is a list of a few things you might use to get started.

Knock before entering a resident's room, and wait for an invitation to enter. For residents with hearing loss, you may need to get their attention in another way such as waving "hello" or making eye contact.

Identify yourself, giving your name and your reason for coming.
Shake hands but let the resident do the squeezing - he or she may be arthritic. Speak clearly, slowly and distinctly. This is particularly important if a person has a hearing problem. The diction and speed with which one speaks may be more important than the volume of the voice. Do Not shout; remember that to a hard-of-hearing person, lip movements may assist in communication. Repeat words or sentences if necessary.
Begin the conversation with questions about the resident and things that are important to him/her. Ask questions about family, hometown, meaningful past experiences, church attended or given name.
Be prepared to listen, allowing the resident plenty of time to answer questions you have asked. It may take the older person longer to respond to a question for he or she may need time to sort through his or her memory bank to find the answer he or she wants to give. Wait. Don't ask a second question until the resident has had time to answer the first question you ask.
Don't argue with a person, whether you agree with them or not. Avoid controversial subjects.
Be open to a resident's tendency to be frank and in turn honest with him or her.
Be sensitive to the resident and his or her needs. You will know when you have stayed long enough by such signs as: restlessness, lack of interest, drowsiness. The length of your visit will not be as important to him or her as the fact that you have been there, so do not wear out your welcome.
It is going to shock you on how many residents and including Nursing Staff and other employees. That believes in the Lord. I have had employees come to me to pray and to get advice. That do not have a chance to go to their church or need a church. The residents may need to be saved . I personally had people in their 80's that needed saved. I had one get saved and died that night while I was home. Remember you don't save people, but threw you from our Lord Jesus Christ that they are saved.
Always say a prayer for them just before you leave.
Say goodbye and indicate when you expect to return.

General Guidelines

Dress neatly and appropriately.
Notify the Activities Director at least one day in advance, if possible, if you cannot make your scheduled visit to the facility.
Eating and drinking is allowed only in designated areas.
Never bring alcoholic beverages, drugs or unauthorized articles into the facility.

- Think First - Sex acts. Physical abuse, Mental abuse, taking rewords for your work (money, things.)

Safety

There are some important safety rules you need to follow. These precautions help keep our residents staff safe while quality health care! Some of the residents rely on the use of a wheelchair for transportation. Listed below are some important guidelines to keep in mind when assisting residents in wheelchairs. Never operate equipment you have no special training to use. Remembering you are a volunteer to assist.

Wheelchair Safety

Make sure to speak to the resident and make sure he or she knows you are going to "push" their wheelchair before you begin movement. Never surprise a person by coming up from behind.
Always lock the wheels when the resident is transferring or going to stand.
If resident is restrained, make sure he or she remains restrained.
Go Slowly. There is a danger of running into the other residents if you speed down the hall.
Always be careful of not being able to see around corners, and coming in or out of a doorway. That someone else may be coming around or out.
Park empty wheelchair so that doorways are never blocked.
Report unsafe, broken wheelchairs to a nurse.
Be careful of bumps, uneven services or sudden stops. I was almost thrown out in to the intersection of traffic, from someone pushing the wheelchair and wasn't aware of the safety.
Let the residents know when you are leaving him or her.

Emergency Situations

As you can see, we are concerned about the safety of the residents, staff and volunteers. For that reason we must always be prepared for emergency, such as fire or tornado, even though we do our best to prevent emergency situations. In most emergency situations, the best thing to do is to stay calm and allow staff members to handle the incident. However, there may be times when you must necessarily interact with a resident during an emergency. The main thing for you to remember is not to panic! It is important to be calm and reassuring with the residents to keep them from being unnecessarily frightened. Locate the person in charge or any full-time associate, and they will be able to instruct you on the procedures you are to follow. Calmly follow their instructions and please, remember the most important thing is.

Don't Panic

Conclusion

As was stated several times through reading this, you should feel free to ask the Activities Director, Social Services Director or other staff members any questions you may have as a volunteer. Never had any problems with talking about the Lord. Because you are getting to know the residents as individuals and as friends, their my be time when you feel concern for them or want to understand them better. You may want to adopt one to take care of things like if they need new clothes or just wash the old clothes. Many times the volunteer my be aware of needs or concerns the resident has not expressed to the staff. These are things you should talk to the Activities Director about. He or she may be able to lend an insight or help meet a need the resident has expressed by passing information on to the appropriate person or persons.

Thank you for Caring! In Jesus Name, I Pray, Amen