Ellen Traylor, a native Selmian, has found her niche as volunteer coordinator for nearly a year at locally owned Cahaba Hospice, a comprehensive program for the terminally ill.

Traylor said of her work: &uot;I love it. I would pay them to do my job!&uot;

Traylor, herself a volunteer, started with Cahaba in 1998 at a time when it was the only program in town. She had supported her brother-in-law who was dying of cancer without hospice and knew of the need for such a program when Cahaba was founded. &uot;I felt called to be involved,&uot; she said.

Reflecting on her years of service with Cahaba she said, &uot;I’ve learned so much more and have received so much more than I have given.

Traylor said that for a hospice agency to be accredited, at least 5 percent of the services rendered must be performed by volunteers.

She coordinates 15 volunteers, but hastened to add that she needs more. &uot;Our aim is to have one volunteer to assign to every family in our program.&uot; The program serves patients within a 50-mile radius of Selma. At present all volunteers are from Selma, but some patients are in outlying areas.

There’s also a bereavement program which is available for up to a year after a patient has died – consisting of regular contacts by phone or in person, seeking to enable survivors to make their own transition following the death of their loved one. And some volunteers, Traylor pointed out, do not have contact with patients. &uot;That’s not a requirement,&uot; she said.

Volunteers are required to receive 16 hours of training a year to remain certified for duty.

Cahaba provides lunch and instruction and discussion once a month for volunteers to enable them to fulfill this requirement.

Volunteer duties vary enormously, Traylor said, from patient to patient and situation to situation. These include sitting with a patient in his or her home, while the primary caregiver goes out to shop, run errands, have lunch with a friend, or simply to take a break, she said.

As coordinator, Traylor has more administrative functions. She and staff assign volunteers to patients and their families on an ongoing basis.

Her biggest thrill is going to see the patients and their families and asking how things are going. &uot;I always hear of amazing things that our volunteers have done, the kind of things that don’t get into the official reports back to me. It’s so gratifying,&uot; she said.

Traylor notes the importance of the team approach in dealing effectively with patients and their caregivers in the program. The team includes a chaplain, social worker, the volunteer, the volunteer coordinator, a nurse, nurse’s aide, the patient’s primary care physician, the hospice medical director and, of course, the patient and the patient’s family.

Cahaba Hospice is located at 410 Church St. For further information, call (334) 418-0566.