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Programs - Comfort Care Vigil Ministry

Comfort Care Vigil Ministry
“NO ONE DIES ALONE”
At St. John’s Lutheran Ministries we are committed to our mission: providing living opportunities within nurturing environments of hope, dignity, and love. We find ourselves providing those opportunities even in death.

Because of this, we have formed the Comfort Care Vigil Ministry. When caregivers identify signs that a resident is close to death, the staff converges to establish a team of volunteers to sit with the resident - 24 hours a day - until the time of death. Residents' families who have chosen to be a part of this ministry have felt very blessed by the care and comfort offered to their loved one. This opportunity has had a special impact on the volunteers as well.

Vigil Team Members are both residents and employees from all areas and departments at St. John's. These are people who work a long, hard day (or night), and volunteer to give more of themselves by returning to the campus, morning or evening, to stay with a resident for two-hour intervals. To date, we have trained about 80 volunteers for this program and offer training on a quarterly basis.

For more information, please contact Pastor Joan Erickson at 655-5763.