The Shepherds Watch Supportive Volunteer Program

According to the Institute of Medicine, patients and families may lack sufficient physical and emotional support when nothing more can be done to “cure” an illness. The Shepherds Watch Supportive Volunteer Program is one way the St. John’s Mercy is providing this support to patients and families.

The program is designed to maintain the comfort and dignity of patients at the final stage of life while providing support to their families. Supportive volunteers are trained to work in collaboration with the health care team to perform special services* at the patient’s bedside:

• Provide a supportive presence, comfort and peace in a patient’s time of death
• Assure that the patient’s physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs are met (in collaboration with the health care team) through the use of touch and prayer
• Assist as needed with positioning, comfort and oral care
• Provide tools from a “comfort care kit” to facilitate a calming atmosphere (i.e. CDs, relaxation tapes, reading, assisting the patient with legacy letters to the family, etc.).

*Supportive volunteers do not bathe patients, administer medication or feed patients (unless the volunteer is comfortable with feeding the patient).

If you would like to volunteer for the Shepherds Watch Supportive Volunteer Program, please call 314-251-6180.