7/03/08

Volunteer helps the terminally ill

Volunteers are the engine that drive most service organizations, and Providence Hospice and Home Care of Snohomish County recently recognized one of its dedicated volunteers with the Sue White Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Connie Isaacson, a Marysville resident, has been a volunteer with the agency since 1998, following a 3-year stint with Evergreen Hospice. She specializes in patient care, providing respite, companionship, vigil and any other services that are needed.

Isaacson’s willingness to help others was demonstrated when the agency received a request for rose pruning at a patient’s home. The woman went to the patient’s home, pruning shears in hand, only to discover the rose bushes were actually hedges that had not been trimmed in 60 years. Isaacson cheerfully tackled the daunting task, bringing joy to a terminal patient who died the day after project was completed.

Isaacson is a member of the Providence Hospice and Home Care Volunteer Action Committee, helping to recruit and manage other volunteer staffers. She also facilitates a grief support group for women called Celebrate Recovery through Marysville First Assembly Church.

Sue White, for whom the award is named, was a retired nurse who had also served in the military during World War II. She became a respite volunteer in 1988, caring for all ages of patients while their caregivers took a much-needed break from their duties. White died in 1997.