Roles Ascribed to Volunteers

Volunteers have been the hallmark of the hospice movement since its U.S. inception in 1973. As part of the National Hospice Study, volunteer hours and activities were reported monthly in forth participating hospices nationwide. Most volunteers were white females with at least a high school education. The attitude ofpaidstaff toward volunteers was overwhelmingly positive. Overall, the level of volunteer involvement is approximately 1.5 hours per patient each day he or she spends in the hospiceprogram. This breaks down to nearly .80 hours of direct patient care and.70 hours devoted to other activities. While the most prevalent use of volunteers is in the provision of direct patient care infreestanding hospices, volunteers also spend a large proportion of their time in theperformance ofadministrative activities.