Veterans' Healthy Living, Fall 2013
No Veteran Dies Alone
For years, Patti Crimmin-Greenan, Palliative Care Coordinator at White River Junction VA Medical Center in Vermont, noted that numerous Veterans had little or no family or caregiver support available at the end of life, and many died alone. So, she took the initiative to begin the No Veteran Dies Alone program at the facility.
No Veteran Dies Alone is a program that matches trained and compassionate volunteers with Veterans who might otherwise spend their last days alone. For the launch of the program, there was an overwhelming response from caring volunteers willing to help. Currently, there are 25 trained volunteers, but 58 signed up! At this time, Crimmin-Greenan is working to match more Veterans with volunteers. She stressed that the program can also assist Veterans who have support but who may require someone with them on occasion. “There are family members or caregivers who try to be with the Veteran at all times, but it is not possible,” she explained, “so volunteers can help fill gaps of time to ensure the Veteran is not left alone.”
When a volunteer visits a Veteran, cues are directly from the patient. Sometimes a Veteran wishes to have a conversation. Other times, the Veteran isn’t able to speak, so the volunteer simply is present and at the person’s side. Sometimes a Veteran asks to be read to or to listen to music—the volunteer’s effort depends on what the Veteran wants.
One Veteran in particular simply preferred to be alone and refused a volunteer when offered, raising the probability of him dying alone. Crimmin-Greenan didn’t know how to deal with this unexpected situation at first, but she reached out to the Veteran anyway. Instead of constant interaction, she asked a couple of volunteers to check in on him from time to time. Soon, the Veteran bonded with the volunteers who brought movies and listened to music with him, thereby finding a common ground.
An outside hospice organization called Crimmin- Greenan for assistance when another Veteran who was receiving home hospice care was looking for a Veteran to share military experiences. With help from her newly trained No Vet Dies Alone volunteers, Patti managed to meet this request.
Before the program started, Veterans without support were unable to use the hospice suites at the facility. Crimmin-Greenan said, “The criteria for using the hospice suites are that Veterans must have a family member or caregiver with them 24/7. The ward staff would accommodate and supplement help whenever possible, but the staff alone is unable to provide as much one-on-one personal care a terminally ill person may need. For that reason, some of the Veterans would remain on the wards in the general hospital population.” Because of the No Vet Dies Alone program, Veterans who would have otherwise not been able to use the suites have
now done so.
For more information about the No Veteran Dies Alone program, contact Pat (Patti) Crimmin- Greenan at 802-295-9363, ext. 5226.
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