Missouri Hospice and Palliative Care Association, in partnership with the Missouri Department of Corrections (MoDOC), has launched a comprehensive hospice training that will positively impact those approaching end of life in the prison population.
This first training for offenders, who volunteer their time to care for the terminally ill, was held at the Jefferson City Correctional Center in Jefferson City. This ground breaking training was developed by a group of Missouri Hospice & Palliative Care experts, in coordination with MoDOC staff.
The training provided offender volunteers within the prison population with the tools necessary to understand and provide compassionate, comforting care to those at end of life in Missouri prisons. Course content included the volunteer role in the prison setting; medical, psychosocial and ethical aspects of life-limiting illness; and spiritual and cultural needs at the end of life.
This seven-hour program is the first prison hospice volunteer training that has been approved by a state corrections department for statewide implementation. Other prison locations in Missouri are being reviewed as possible training sites.
For more information about the program, contact the Missouri Hospice and Palliative Care Association.