Events

The Eskenazi Health No One Dies Alone (NODA) program is offering an informational session on Thursday, Jan. 15 from 1 – 3 p.m. for people interested in learning more about becoming a volunteer for the program. The session will be held in the FORVIS Conference Room on the Eskenazi Health downtown campus.

Created in 2012, the program uses volunteer companions who are notified when patients are alone and expected to die in the next 24 to 72 hours. The companions come to the hospital and stay with the patients, rotating through three-hour shifts, to ensure they are not left alone in their final moments. During the vigil, the volunteer companions talk to the patients, hold their hands or just serve as a compassionate presence in the room.

Because of the nature of the program, companions must be older than 18 years of age and must not have experienced a recent death of a friend or family member. While Eskenazi Health employees are allowed to be part of the program, because it is a volunteer position, they must not currently hold a clinical and patient-facing position.

The program is part of Eskenazi Health Palliative Care, which assists underserved patients who have been diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses and need to experience dignity and compassion as they die. The specially trained palliative care staff at Eskenazi Health helps coordinate complex medical care for patients as they face the physical and psychological challenges associated with their illness.

Interested participants can sign up to attend via the online registration form or call 317.880.8263. More information about the program is available at www.eskenazihealth.edu/NODA.