Bixler named Mahaska Hospice Volunteer of the Year

The Oskaloosa Herald

OSKALOOSA November 12, 2009 04:39 pm

— Donna Bixler, of Oskaloosa, was recently recognized as Mahaska Hospice Volunteer of the Year at the Hospice & Palliative Care Association of Iowa Fall Conference, Oct. 29, in Ames.
She is one of 69 volunteers from across the State of Iowa honored at the event.
According to Mahaska Hospice Volunteer Coordinator Lisa McNulty, Bixler has been a patient care volunteer with Mahaska Hospice since 2004.
“Since then, she has graciously given of her time to volunteer with several patients, each on a long-term basis,” McNulty said. “She is currently providing respite for a family of an Alzheimer’s patient and they love her.”
McNulty said Bixler also volunteers in the Mahaska Hospice office on a regular basis and has been called in on other short-notice assignments, which she willingly accepts.
“We are blessed to have Donna working with us and are thrilled that she was recognized for all the wonderful care she provides,” McNulty said. “Volunteers are the heart of hospice. These caring people serve patients and families with a spirit of compassion and a desire to enhance the quality of each person’s life. Our volunteers step into the picture at a very significant point in a patient’s life and make a lasting impression remembered by families for years to come. Donna exemplifies this spirit of kindness and compassion, and she, along with all of our volunteers, is an important member of the hospice team.”
People interested in volunteering with hospice should contact McNulty at (641) 672-3266. Many opportunities are available including office support, sewing sensory quilts, spending time with patients and eventually working in the Hospice Serenity House.
“So much of what we provide our hospice patients is made possible by our outstanding group of volunteers,” McNulty said. “A person can’t help but be touched by working with hospice.”