NODA – “No One Dies Alone” is a program founded in 2001 by Sandra Clarke, an intensive care nurse at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, Oregon. She noticed there was no continuous support system in place for terminal patients without family or friends.
Patients near death are paired with compassionate care volunteers who sit with them in shifts. They talk with them, read to them, pray with them, or are there just for them so when they do cross over, they will not be alone. NODA programs can be found all over the U.S. and I have heard of some in Australia.
Unlike programs where a hospital volunteer or a member of the pastoral department visits a patient occasionally, the NODA program provides around-the-clock companion for patients at the end of their life.
At Metro Hospital, near me, in Cleveland, Ohio, it works like this: When it has been determined the patient has 48 hours or less to live, NODA volunteers are called in and are given four-hour shifts. When the first volunteer arrives to sit with a patient, the hospital NODA coordinator tells them the patient’s name and religious affiliation, if known. The volunteer is given a “comfort bag” that contains a CD player, calming music and note cards, which they can use to leave messages to family members or other NODA volunteers.
In the patient’s final hours, a bond forms between the volunteers and the patient. The volunteers often express that the process is one of being, rather than doing. Volunteers can record their feelings, observations, and thoughts about their time spent with their patient in a NODA journal. The journal is then given to the next volunteer in that patient’s shift.
(this article was first published on my Being Better Humans Blog in 2018)
- Confronting Fears with a Terminal Diagnosis - February 6, 2024
- Planning an At-Home Funeral - January 30, 2024
- Why ‘Lost Their Battle’ is the Wrong Thing to Say - January 23, 2024
