Genesis Hospice Care honors volunteers

ZANESVILLE, Ohio-  This week is National Volunteer Week and Genesis Hospice Care is showing appreciation for its volunteers.

Vicki McConnell has been a Hospice volunteer with Genesis for 32 years. When she first started, McConnell used to help with personal care for patients but now she helps to bring a smile by dressing up as a clown.

“I do anything from clowning and we go to the nursing home where we have hospice patients and come here to the hospice building,” said McConnell. “It may not necessarily be that the patients themselves may not enjoy us, but the family that we can give a little cheer to.”

McConnell said that while many people may think that being a Hospice volunteer is depressing, it’s really not because she gets to see patients when they have good days.

“We went Monday to see a lady and she’d had her eighty-sixth birthday on Sunday, and we play our Kazoos and sang happy birthday, and those are the moments that I get something back out of, as much as their giving to me as I give to them,” said McConnell.

For more information about volunteer programs and opportunities with Hospice Care call their office at (740) 454-5365 or visit their website.