NORWICH – Hospice of Chenango County recently completed a patient/family volunteer training course facilitated by the agency’s Volunteer Coordinator Kendall Drexler. Drexler said that the diversity of the background of the individuals who spent twenty five hours in training will allow Hospice to offer a specific skill or service that a patient/family might need. Ten people completed the course. Some were retired, while others are still in the paid workforce. Their employment background and interests include an EMT, an LPN, a Home Health Aide, a food service manger, a graphic designer, and a minister to name a few. What they had in common is their desire to make a difference in their communities.

Among the trainees were cancer survivors and those with lifelong disabilities. “They know what it feels like to lose some of their independence, or go through cancer treatment and face their own mortality,” says Drexler. These life experiences will help them understand some of what their patients and families are going through.