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Spiritual Care Services Launching No One Dies Alone (NODA) Program at UCSF

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Peter Clark in News

After over a year of preparations, volunteer recruitment and training, and logistical work, and thanks to a generous grant from UCSF Partners in Care, Spiritual Care Services is pleased to announce the beginning of a No One Dies Alone (NODA) program to serve imminently dying adult inpatients at Parnassus who are unbefriended or unaccompanied. NODA makes it possible for a volunteer to offer companionship to an adult who is dying on one of our inpatient units and who has not had family members or friends visiting, or to a patient whose family/friends are keeping vigil and might need a respite break.

NODA is not a religiously oriented service and it is not a replacement for a chaplain or anyone else serving a professional function on the caregiving team. Our volunteers are explicitly instructed that their aim is to support the patient with their presence, and chaplains will be available to consult about any religious, spiritual, or other non-medical requests a patient might make during a NODA visit.

This program launched on the morning of Wednesday, February 1st. The Parnassus on-call chaplain or the chaplain serving a clinical unit will serve as the referral point for a NODA request.  Once a patient has been identified as someone who would benefit from a NODA visit, a trained volunteer would be contacted. Because we are reliant on volunteers, we cannot guarantee that we always will have a companion available, or that we’ll be able to provide continuous coverage. However, our aim is to fulfill all NODA requests with at least some companionship during those patients’ last hours and days.

Here are two photos of some eager, enthusiastic NODA volunteers at recent training sessions.  Spiritual Care Services staff members Peter Yuichi Clark (in back at left) and Kate Perdigon and Flora Avecilla (front row, center) facilitated this training in late January.
And in this photo taken in early February, Peter is in the front row near the center.  Kate also attended but is not in the photo.  Thanks to Lauren Franklin in Volunteer Services for being our photographer on both occasions!
If you would like to participate as a volunteer in this program, please contact 415-353-1941 or e-mail us.  A PDF announcement about the program is here: NODAAnnouncement-Dec2016.

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About Us

Spiritual Care Services provides emotional and spiritual support for patients, their families and staff. Learn More

News and Blog Posts

  • Announcing a Time of Remembrance for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco
  • UCSF Hosts Continuing Education Event for Spiritual Caregivers and Allies on July 16, 2018
  • Spiritual Care Services Launching No One Dies Alone (NODA) Program at UCSF
  • Midday Mindfulness at Parnassus
  • A Statement of Solidarity from Spiritual Care Services
  • UCSF Spiritual Care Services Awarded Research Literacy Curriculum Grant
  • Spiritual Care Services Speaks Up on Sustainability
  • Chaplains Publish Articles on Cancer Care and Asian American Religions
  • More Articles Published from UCSF Spiritual Care Research
  • Spiritual Care Services Sponsors Conversation with Thupten Jinpa

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Tip #1: Stay nourished and hydrated. If you are feeling irritated or exhausted part of the reason might be because your body needs fuel. Make sure you’re drinking water regularly and eating healthy snacks whenever you can.

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All opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not represent the official position of the University of California. The Clinical Pastoral Education program at UCSF Health is accredited for Level 1, Level 2, and Certified Educator CPE by ACPE (the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc.), One West Court Square, Suite 325, Decatur, GA 30033-2538 USA; 404-320-1472; www.acpe.edu.

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