Health Care

Cape Fear Valley Medical Center rolls out new volunteer program

By Staff Report, posted 10 months ago

Cape Fear Valley Medical Center has implemented a new volunteer program focused on providing companionship to dying inpatients who do not have family or other loved ones able to be with the patient during the end of their life.

The No One Dies Alone (NODA) program originally began in 2021 at Sacred Heart Medical Centre in Eugene, Ore., and is now an international program that provides Compassionate Companions for dying individuals in hospitals who would otherwise die alone.

“Whether talking softly, playing relaxing music, or simply holding vigil, our NODA volunteers act as a reassuring presence at the bedside of the dying patient when no friends or family are available to be with them during their final days of life,” said NODA Coordinator and Nurse Educator Rachel Thurnher in a press release.

NODA volunteers are given specialized training in compassionate communication, comfort care, death and dying, health care ethics, and spiritual care. The training is held in the health system’s Simulation Lab and includes the opportunity to practice being a compassionate companion.

Volunteers who would like to join the NODA program can call (910) 615-6783 or go to https://www.capefearvalley.com/volunteer-services for more information.

Ico insights

INSIGHTS

SPONSORS' CONTENT

In The Current Issue

Hemp hemp hurray: Local farmer and business man seeks to educate the broader community about the many uses for hemp

Keith Dunn began farming hemp in 2017. A few weeks later he founded East Carolina Hemp Supply. After years of slow but steady growth, Dunn hopes to one day be able to build a hemp processing plant in North Carolina to boost the industry and local eco


Australian manufacturer to launch North American operations in Bladen County, investing more than $6M in Elizabethtown

Photo provided by Bladen County Economic DevelopmentVectorTex USA, LLC, a product developer and technology company, will create 44 new jobs in Bladen County. The company will establish its first North American manufacturing facility in Elizabethtown.