Health at Home Volunteer Opportunities

SSM Health at Home depends on volunteers like you to deliver the services upon which our patients rely. Explore our volunteer opportunities to learn more; then complete your volunteer application today to get started.

Looking to volunteer in the Greater Fond du Lac area? Please fill out our volunteer application form to start the process of becoming a volunteer.

Hospice Volunteering

Make a difference in the lives of others – become an SSM Health at Home hospice volunteer.

Our hospice volunteers give the gift of themselves and their time by providing emotional support, companionship, and respite care to our patients and families.

There are a variety of ways you can help. Please note that not all opportunities may be available in all areas.

Patient Support

Volunteers working directly with patients and their families provide companionship and support to patients, respite for families, and assistance with errands, meal preparation, or light housekeeping. Visits are usually made in patient homes, which may include nursing homes. In Wisconsin, volunteers may also serve at one of SSM Health’s hospice residential facilities.

Clerical Support

Volunteers can help support the program behind the scenes by performing clerical duties such as copying and collating materials, preparing mailings, or assisting with special projects, fundraising efforts, and special events. Clerical volunteers work in the hospice office during regular business hours.

Veteran-to-Veteran Volunteer Program

As part of our participation in the We Honor Veterans program, we have implemented a Veterans-to-Veterans Volunteer Program, an innovative model for serving veterans at the end of life. The program aims to pair veteran hospice volunteers with veteran hospice patients. Once paired, these volunteers have the unique ability to relate and connect with the patient, creating an environment where life review and healing may occur. As a member of the program, you can provide support and comfort by offering a few hours of your time, companionship, and camaraderie.

Help Families Preserve Memories

Volunteers assist patients in preserving memories that family and friends can keep as a memento.

Comfort in the Final Hours

Volunteers choosing to participate in this program provide emotional comfort and support to patients in their last hours of life. Through this special type of volunteering, you can provide a reassuring presence to patients who would otherwise be alone in the final hours of life. Depending on availability, volunteers may stay with a patient in shifts up to three or four hours each, day or night.

Bereavement Support

Volunteers can assist the hospice bereavement program by providing caring contact and companionship for families adjusting to loss.

Visit-A-Bit Program

Visit-A-Bit is a program serving the Greater St. Louis area that connects senior adults and volunteers to help create meaningful relationships to ensure no one feels alone.

Visit-A-Bit is a weekly socialization program that connects volunteers with seniors that may be living alone or in a senior community to develop meaningful relationships. Pairing is based on geographic locations, interests and hobbies. Visit-A-Bit also offers active senior participants the opportunity to play Tele-Bingo each week. The program also offers optional weekly task visits such as helping to change a battery, while also providing a range of resources to assist with sustaining independence.

Volunteers do not need specialized medical training. They are people who provide a check-in to seniors living at home and who connect back to SSM Health and The Visiting Nurse Association of Greater St. Louis - helping to keep St. Louis seniors safer, healthier and reducing the chance for senior loneliness.

Benefits of the Visit-A-Bit Program

  • Improve Quality of Life: To improve the quality of life for home-bound seniors and program participants suffering from loneliness.
  • Promote Independence: Resources can be provided to promote health, independence and dignity in the home and community while offering weekly task visits for seniors.
  • Encourage Healthy Habits: To ensure home-bound seniors are not food insecure and to provide them with nutritional resources, if needed.
  • Protect from Abuse: To provide home-bound seniors with information about financial scams, fraud and elder abuse; and, to provide fraud prevention/detection materials and information.
  • Increase Socialization: Weekly volunteer visits encourage the senior adult to socialize more.
  • Interacting with others may help lighten their mood and feelings of loneliness may decrease.
  • ​Weekly Entertainment: Visit-A-Bit seniors have the option to play weekly Tele-Bingo which offers short-term memory skills, hand and eye coordination and have a fun time!

Learn more about the Visit-A-Bit program and how to start volunteering.

Children’s Grief Camps

SSM Health at Home holds grief support day camps for children in some locations. Camps are designed for kids and their parent(s) or guardian(s) who are dealing with the loss of a loved one. Staffed by SSM Health at Home spiritual and grief counselors and specially trained volunteers, the day camp gives kids the opportunity to share their grief in a safe space. Volunteers are needed in several capacities and training is provided.

Meals on Wheels in Madison, Middleton & Monona

Meals On Wheels volunteering is an easy way to give back to your community, and you can make a difference with just an hour of your time. Your commitment level is flexible – choose what works best for you and your schedule.

Delivery routes are available Monday – Friday in Madison, Middleton and Monona. Meal pick-up times are between 10:45 am and noon at a number of convenient locations. All volunteers go through a training session which covers the delivery routine, route sheet review and any questions you may have. Pickup points and your preferences regarding pickup site location and delivery days are also discussed.

In addition to volunteering as an individual, Meals On Wheels offers volunteer opportunities for families, groups and workplace teams:

Group Volunteer Opportunities

Bring family and/or service groups together to deliver meals during the summer, holidays, and school breaks. Group volunteering provides an opportunity for families or groups to spend time together while providing a much needed community service.

The Lunch Bunch

SSM Health at Home's Lunch Bunch provides home-schooled children the opportunity to participate in community service, while also earning community service learning hours.

Workplace Delivery Teams

A dedicated workplace delivery team builds employee morale, promotes team building, and allows busy professionals the opportunity to give back over the lunch hour without jeopardizing work-life balance.

For more information about delivering SSM Health at Home – Meals On Wheels, please call 608-276-7598 or email us at hahwi.mow@ssmhealth.com.

Start the Volunteer Process Today!

Volunteering times are flexible, and each volunteer determines in which part of their office’s service area they would like to volunteer. Free, comprehensive training is provided, and no medical experience is necessary. All volunteers must maintain volunteer requirements and attend annual training.