Gentiva Hospice provides comfort, pain management and support for patients with a prognosis of less than six months with a terminal illness. Hospice facilities like this are required to have 5% of their total patient care hours from volunteers.
Cindy Wilson-Sabatini and Melissa Chanselle-Hary have been volunteering for Gentiva for quite some time. Both have had unique contributions to the volunteer program.
Wilson-Sabatini started taking piano lessons at only eight years old. And she has been singing for school performances, church choir and community theater for as long as she can remember. Along with being a performer, she teaches piano and voice lessons at It’s All About Music and works as a part-time music director at United Methodist Church in Sparks.
Her most recent performance was in an opera called “Love?” at the National Automobile museum. In a
black dress with a beige shawl over her shoulders, she sang her heart out as she played four different characters.
She integrates her musical background into her volunteer work. She sometimes brings the church hymnal and sings the hymns her patients love.
“I’m glad I can put a little joy in their last time being on earth,” Wilson-Sabatini said.
Her late husband battled Leukemia for a few months before he passed. She said she wanted to give back to the hospice community after they helped them get through such a difficult time.
She has been volunteering for almost a year. She said most of her patients haven’t lasted as long as the one she has now. She visits the patient weekly and she makes sure to take her outside to get some fresh air especially since she spends most of her time inside the group home.
Although hospice can be despairing at times, Raymond DiBona, the patient care manager for Gentiva and a registered nurse, said he’s thankful for the dedication of their volunteers.
“Genuinely selfless people, they’re amazing. They’re giving up their own personal time to go help somebody else’s journey. And it makes me emotional,” DiBona said.
Gentiva’s volunteer program has been led by Carly Owens for about a year. She said it has been a challenging process finding people who're willing to donate their time especially because of the stigma around death but the volunteer program is slowly growing.
“I just have to meet them where they’re at and work on the timelines that they’re on because I’ll take whatever they’re willing to give,” Owens said.
Melissa Chanselle-Hary’s Reiki certification makes her stand out among the numerous volunteers. She has helped alleviate pain from patients through this form of energy healing. She recalled one patient specifically who was in so much pain and could only sleep after she did Reiki on her.
She said she has always been interested in hospice but began volunteering as part of her end of life training to become a doula.
“There’s something really beautiful about the depth of connection that can happen. And there’s a lot that you learn about yourself and others,” Chanselle-Hary said.
She said some patients can be a little difficult to deal with at first. She recalls one particular patient who she had a hard time getting along with due to their personal differences.
“I met a man who, based on my tattoos and my nose piercing, he said ‘your nose is pierced’ and I said ‘yes sir, it is,’” Chanselle-Hary said. “It was really interesting because I was a little nervous and I was like I think we’re really different people but we’ll see.”
But after weeks of visiting him, making sundaes for him as they watched TV and chatted, they eventually became friends.
However, one week she didn’t see him.
“I remember because he was getting close, he was declining and I remember I said ‘well, I’ll see you next week.’ He said ‘I don’t know’ and I said ‘okay well give me a big hug just in case,’” Chanselle-Hary said.
It was the last time she saw him. But she said he wasn’t alone when he died. She knows in her heart his late wife’s spirit was with him when he took his last breath.
Hospice volunteering can be beautiful and difficult at the same time.
Cindy Wilson-Sabatini said she takes care of herself through her faith and shifting perspective can help.
“You’ve got to think about what you’re giving to them in their last days. Make it as special as you can,” Wilson-Sabatini said.
