Volunteers
- NHPCO estimates that in 2009, 468,000 hospice volunteers provided 22 million hours of service, including: spending time with patients and families; providing clerical support; and helping with fundraising efforts.
- Volunteer support is an important measure of quality in weighing hospice providers. Medicare requires that 5% of total patient care hours annually are provided by volunteers. Family Hospice volunteers exceed this standard, with 6% (more than 15,000 hours) for fiscal year 2010.