Palliative Care Volunteer

Palliative Care Volunteer

Community-driven healthcare rooted in the strength and resilience of rural Alaska.

Volunteer Role Summary

Sunshine Community Health Center (SCHC) is seeking compassionate Palliative Care Volunteers to provide non-clinical support to individuals with life-limiting illnesses and their families. Volunteers help enhance quality of life through companionship, emotional support, practical assistance, and connection to community resources.

Palliative Care Volunteers do not provide clinical care, hands-on personal care, or perform tasks requiring medical training, licensure, or professional clinical judgment. Volunteer activities are assigned based on program needs, volunteer interests, training, and demonstrated ability.

Volunteer Activities May Include

• Providing companionship through conversation, reading, shared activities, and supportive visits.
• Offering emotional support to patients and families.
• Providing a reassuring presence so caregivers may attend appointments, run errands, or take a short break.
• Assisting with light household tasks such as meal preparation or light cleaning.
• Helping with seasonal or outdoor tasks such as mowing, snow removal, or stacking firewood, when appropriate.
• Assisting with minor non-clinical home support tasks or moving household items, when appropriate and approved by the program.
• Providing transportation to appointments or community activities when authorized and appropriate.
• Assisting with grocery shopping or other essential errands.
• Supporting fundraising, community outreach, volunteer recruitment, and distribution of donated items.

Required Qualifications

• Must be at least 18 years of age.
• Demonstrated reliability, emotional maturity, compassion, and sensitivity when working with individuals and families experiencing serious illness.
• Ability to maintain appropriate boundaries and respect patient and family privacy and confidentiality.
• Ability to communicate respectfully and work cooperatively with patients, families, staff, and community partners.
• Ability to perform assigned volunteer activities safely and within established program guidelines.
• Successful completion of required background screening.
• Valid driver's license for volunteers assigned to transportation-related activities.
• Completion of required drug screening when applicable to assigned volunteer duties.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous volunteer, caregiving, community service, hospice, palliative care, or human services experience.
• Experience supporting older adults, individuals with serious illness, caregivers, or families.
• Familiarity with rural communities and local community resources.

Volunteer Environment & Travel

Volunteer activities may take place in patients' homes, SCHC facilities, community settings, or other approved locations. Some assignments may require local travel. Volunteers are expected to follow SCHC safety, confidentiality, infection-control, and volunteer program requirements at all times.

Equal Opportunity

SCHC is committed to providing equal opportunity in its volunteer programs and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability or genetic information, veteran status, or any other protected class.