Phone Number: +507 6781-9250

Volunteers can contribute as much or as little time as they wish. Most of our requests for Volunteers are via WhatsApp.

Requirements:

Be enthusiastic

Be able to work as part of a team

Be a good communicator (listening and speaking skills)

Be reliable

Bilingual is great but not required

Be accessible by phone

Honor your commitments

Be tolerant

Leave your personal feelings at home

Support the organization’s policies, whatever you may feel

Equipment Team (Equipment Team and Respiratory Team)

Dispenses and receives equipment at our storage lockers in Alto Dorado Cleans/sanitizes/disinfects returned equipment

Maintains records of who has borrowed which pieces of equipment

Receives notification that someone wants to borrow or return equipment, goes to the

lockers, completes the paperwork.

Training is provided so the team members can instruct the borrower on how to use it or set it

up safely and correctly

Hospice and Family Care Team

Upon contact from the Patient Care Coordinator that a person qualifies as a hospice patient, a Hospice and Family Care Team member visits the patient (either by phone, as is now being done, or in person) to determine what services we can offer (equipment, meals, errands, companionship, transportation). Once the services are determined, the Team Leader issues a Volunteer Alert and a team is formed to provide the necessary services.

Being Prepared Team

Provides the Being Prepared for Death in Boquete Guide (available at either the Tuesday Market or Mailboxes Etc. for $10.00) or by email after a PayPal Donation through our website. Workshops on Being Prepared are held 3-4 times a year. Covers why Being Prepared is so vital

as well as how to complete the forms. Annual update of the Guide.

Home Comfort Team (Meals and Music)

Meals Team is responsible for providing meals to those unable to cook for themselves or leave the home. Meals provided usually for only two weeks, but it may be extended. Volunteers are usually asked to provide one meal, although they may provide more if they wish

Music Team is responsible for providing MP3 players with customized music playlists upon request as well as monthly newsletter articles on how music effects health and well-being.

Blood Donor Team

Acts as a contact point for those who reside in our service area (Boquete, Alto Boquete, Potrerillos, Jaramillo, Palmira, Caldera) who need blood. A call to our Blood Line (WhatsApp written only (+507 6590-2000) will be answered by a volunteer who collects the vital information. The volunteer then calls the Blood Center at Hospital Regional and arranges for the blood to be delivered. Blood is available to anyone who lives in our service area that needs it. No cost and you don’t have to have donated blood to receive blood.

The Blood Center at Hospital Regional comes to Boquete 2-3 times a year for Blood Drives. In 2021 BHH/Hospital Regional collected 168 units were collected and 58 have been distributed.

Translation Team

Provides translation assistance as needed, both spoken and written to allow better assistance for our patients. It is vital that when a patient calls the Patient Care Coordinator that there be no misunderstandings due to language barriers. All of our equipment forms are in both Spanish and English, and our “How To” videos on the website are in both languages. We are working on having our website in both languages.

Education Team

This team is responsible for any education done for our members or the community. CPR, First- Aid in the Home, Being Prepared to name a few examples. At our general meetings there is a 10 minute presentation on a medical topic of interest...our October meeting’s presentation was on skin cancer.

We anticipate our CPR training to recommence starting in February. The goal is to educate our members so they can keep family/friends alive until professional help arrives.

Ambassador Team

The Ambassadors are usually the ones the community meets first. They are our greeters and work at our tables answering questions about the organization and selling our items.

The Ambassador Team also provides Friendship Baskets to those that the Patient Care Coordinator feels would benefit. It is personalized for the recipient and is delivered by one of our volunteers.

Public Relations and Marketing Team

This team produces our monthly newsletter and maintains our social media presence. The newsletter is distributed in the latter half of the month and contains information about what BHH has done during the month, articles that are of interest to the general public and upcoming events. It is emailed to our mailing list.

Our main social media presence is on Facebook. On our page are links to videos and articles of interest.

Training Team

The training team is responsible for training our new members. The last class was in October 2021 and BHH was able to welcome 8 new, enthusiastic members. The class focused on the organization and how the volunteers can contribute.

IT Team

This team is responsible for building/maintaining our website and our new database which will enable BHH to operate more efficiently.

Fund Raising

Usually one event held each year to supplement the donations received.

Editors Note

BHH is a health organization and thus requires that volunteers be vacinated.  They also require volunteers attend an excellent 3 day training.