GREECE, N.Y. — A pet therapy program in the Rochester area that virtually disappeared during the COVID-19 pandemic is a microcosm of the challenges many programs are still facing in recruiting volunteers.
It takes a special person to give their time, especially in places where people are nearing their end of life. One special woman and her dog are helping to solve the issue.
Comfort is difficult to find as the end of life grows near. Joan Hare and Jan Kozlowski are spending their mother’s last days at Hildebrandt Hospice Care Center in Greece, in the same room where their father died in 2013.
“We’ve just had an extraordinary life with mom,” said Kozlowski.
At the hospice center, operated by Rochester Regional Health, comfort comes with four legs, a wagging tail and a caring volunteer in Desiree Voorhies.
“It’s a wonderful experience,” said Voorhies, who once a week brings her trained therapy dog, Rufus, to the hospice care center — visiting families and providing comfort during the most difficult of times.
“I enjoy being here, and I'm so grateful to families who allow me to be part of that,” she said. “Even though, right now, it doesn't always feel like the best gift to them. Hopefully, with time, they will see it as that.”
“We love the dog,” said Kozlowski. “Because even in your darkest hour, your saddest hour, it’s so wonderful to have that comfort.”
Desiree is one of eight volunteer pet therapists who come to the center.
“In my mind, it’s clear that a load gets lifted just a little bit,” said Voorhies. “It doesn’t take things away, but it makes the atmosphere a little bit lighter.”
Overall, there’s a shortage of volunteers, especially in hospice care. The program at RRH was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Tage Brown, RRH director of family life services. Brown oversees a volunteer program that once had more than 200 people involved. That number is now about half that — an issue, he says, happening all over.
“The volunteers are the heartbeat of the program,” he said. “So much of what they do to provide comfort and dignity.”
Voorhies encourages anyone who’s thinking of becoming a volunteer to do it.
“Our job, as we see it, is if we can bring a smile to somebody at this point in their time, it’s wonderful,” she said.
