Specialized patient support at Sky Ridge
Our specialized programs at Sky Ridge allow volunteers to give their time in certain departments. To learn more about these great opportunities, please contact John Penn at (720) 225-1998 or by email at John.Penn@HealthONEcares.com.
No One Dies Alone Program
At Sky Ridge, No One Dies Alone
No one is born alone, and in the best circumstances, no one dies alone. Yet from time to time terminally ill patients come to Sky Ridge Medical Center who have neither family or close friends to be with them as they near the end of life.
No One Dies Alone is a volunteer program that provides the reassuring presence of a companion to dying patients who would otherwise be alone. With the support of the nursing staff, companions are able to help provide patients with a priceless human gift: a dignified death.
How do volunteers help?
No nursing skills are required. Companions should be willing to hold the hand of the patient, read to the patient, play music, fluff pillows, and assist in comfort care measures as requested by the patient or directed by the nurse. Even nurses who volunteer for No One Dies Alone will not provide actual nursing care during their shift but will assist only as a companion.
We also need Vigil Coordinators, who will serve as point of contact for a week at a time and coordinate volunteers when a need arises.
Who may help
All Sky Ridge Medical Center employees and volunteers are invited to participate in the No One Dies Alone program. Companions are asked to sign up for shifts of their choosing. Some may choose to serve on special days to honor or remember loved ones. To provide 24-hour coverage, a team of volunteers will be on call each week, ready to serve at the bedside. When a patient is identified, all volunteers available to help during that time will be notified and asked to respond quickly about their availability for two to four hour shifts.
Getting started
To register, complete a volunteer application and check the box on the application for No One Dies Alone Caring Companion. All companions must take part in an orientation in which they will learn the art of being compassionately present at the bedside of a dying person.
Volunteers will need to complete an orientation program to begin.
For more information about orientation, contact Rev. Laurie Jeddeloh at (720) 225-1778.
Make a difference in a cancer patient's life!
We have partnered with the American Cancer Society to open a Cancer Resource Center housed in the Sky Ridge Cancer Center. If you are a cancer survivor (at least one year out from treatment) and would like to offer support, information and assistance to cancer patients, both in our cancer center and throughout the community, please contact John Penn.
Pet therapy program at Sky Ridge
Sky Ridge has had an Animal-Assisted therapy program since the summer of 2008. All of our handlers are volunteers and enjoy helping patients through their love of canines.
Learn more about our Pet Therapy Program
Junior volunteer opportunities at Sky Ridge Medical Center
Teen volunteers, students and junior ambassadors
Are you considering a health care career? Are you willing to make a long-term commitment to volunteering during your high school years? If so, Sky Ridge Medical Center would like to consider you for our program! High school students aged 14 to 17, are invited to apply. In return for this commitment, students will be given the opportunity to volunteer over time in all of our volunteer departments to gain experience, knowledge, and a real feel for what working in health care is all about. Because of the overwhelming response to this program, we have limited openings.
Eligibility requirements
- 14 to 17 years of age
- Minimum of 3.0 accumulative grade point average
- Recommendation letter
- Interview by the Volunteer Services Department
- Participation at an orientation
- Test for tuberculosis (administered by Employee Health) or verification of a TB test