Congratulations Arlene Roache and the SWSLHD Palliative Care COVID-19 team. Volunteer Team of the Year in the 2021 Centre for Volunteering Awards.
After becoming Team of the Year finalists earlier in September, the group went on the scope the awards in top honour from a list of 25 finalists..
The COVID-19 palliative care team was set up in 2020 – a time when the impact of visiting restrictions in hospital and community settings, limited people at funerals, border closures and no memorial services made their work more needed than ever.
The team support families with bereavement packs for families, telephone numbers for support services, handwritten condolence cards and a follow-up letter.
The volunteers have supported bereaved families right through the pandemic. The Butterfly Box project provides hand knitted bed/pillow runners, a coverlet, battery operated candles, tray and silk flowers to make a hospital room more comforting.
They also provide Dreaming Resource Boxes, which provide a culturally safe space for family and the community in a deceased patient’s hospital room.
According to SWSLHD Volunteer coordinator Arlene Roache, it was a wonderful night and the volunteers “had the opportunity to see and hear stories of like-minded people like them who donate their time so generously to enrich our communities.”