New Course Trains Hospice Volunteers How to Record Patient Photo Stories
Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) July 09, 2013 -- Caregivers and their families have a new tool to record precious life stories of their loved ones at a time when they need it most, and now hospice volunteers can teach them how or do it for them.
The original landmark Certified StoryKeeper Course, launched in 2007, has been used to train over 5,000 hospice volunteers in more than 800 hospices with an audio cassette version.
Unfortunately, analog cassette media became obsolete with the advent of the digital revolution. In 2010, the course was updated to digital format but few hospice volunteers were familiar with digital media at the time.
"Today, more seniors have internet connected computers and devices in their homes and communicate regularly through email or other social media." says Dennis Stack, founder of Project StoryKeeper and creator of the original Certified StoryKeeper Course. "Now we are able to deliver a simplified and more intuitive version so that more volunteers can participate and make a real difference for the families they serve."
The new course trains volunteers how to produce an online "Pict-Oral History" slideshow of the patient's audio narrations describing the important people depicted in vintage family photos.
These impactful talking photos can then be easily and discriminately shared with selected family and friends anywhere in the world. Family members can be connected and empowered to coalesce and contribute to the family's legacy-building process.
"Identifying and telling stories about the people and events in the pictures gives the hospice patient a sense of purpose as many of the people in the old pictures might otherwise be strangers to their grandchildren. says Tom Cormier, co-founder of LegacyStories.org, a family history research library where the slideshows are preserved in perpetuity.
"For many patients, it is too difficult to recall specific life experiences. Describing special photo memories makes this process much easier and offers a profound sense of dignity and purpose, being still able to play a vital role in the family."
The course teaches volunteers how to record photo stories under challenging conditions and how to engage family members in the loved one's legacy-building process.
Families can create or order a 100-year archival DVD of the slideshow as an heirloom and which can be played at the patient's wake or viewing.
"Now family and friends can continue to hear the voice of their loved one at wakes or viewings or at times of grieving when they need it most," says Stack. "The valuable life history shared by the departed loved one is compelling and they can continue to make a difference to future generations of the family. There is no greater gift to leave the family than the gift of legacy."
Depending on location, hospices can opt to have the course facilitated by local Certified Legacy Advisors who have been specifically trained to teach the course. Students completing the course receive a "Certificate of Completion" suitable for framing.
Hospice Volunteer Coordinators who implemented the original StoryKeeper Course indicated a noticeable increase in volunteer recruiting when including StoryKeeping in the job description.
The complete price of the course is only $195 per hospice location and can be implemented within days of registration. Hospice company logos are printed on jewel case covers of archival DVDs when ordered by the family.
For more information contact
Tom Cormier- 423-295-5904
tom(at)legacystories(dot)org
Tom Cormier, Legacy Stories, http://www.legacystories.org, 423-295-5904, [email protected]
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