RAPID CITY, SD – Rapid City Regional Hospital’s Hospice of the Hills department will offer Hospice volunteer training classes on Mondays, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Sept. 23 through Nov. 11. The classes will take place in the lower level of the Hospice House, located at 224 Elk St.

Volunteers are needed in homes, nursing homes, and at the Rapid City Regional Hospital Auxiliary Hospice House. Volunteers serve throughout Pennington, Custer and Fall River counties, as well as adjacent communities in Meade such as Black Hawk, Summerset and Piedmont.

The classes are based on the Hospice volunteer training model and will include topics such as caring for the terminally ill patient, psychosocial aspects of dying, communication, spiritual care, Hospice concepts, comfort care, pain control, advance directives and funeral planning.

The class speakers include health care professionals to explain pain control, ethics in end-of-life decision making, legal issues, communication issues, and how volunteers can make Hospice patients more comfortable. At the end of the class session, participants will have the preparation needed to be a Hospice of the Hills volunteer, but volunteering is not required of those who take the classes.

“Our goal is to train people to be prepared as much as possible for caring for the terminally ill,” said Barbara Vargo, Hospice of the Hills Volunteer Coordinator. “We hope those who take the classes will have a special understanding of the challenges facing families as they care for a loved one.”

Preregistration is required for the classes. To register for the classes, or for more information, call Barbara Vargo, Hospice Volunteer Coordinator, at (605) 755-7729 or (800) 209-4719.