Home care services — such as cardiac education, physical and occupational therapy, speech and language pathology and other rehabilitation and skilled nursing services — are provided solely by trained health care professionals.

However, Crockett said at least 5 percent of Loyola’s hospice services, which include end-of-life care and supportive services, must be provided by volunteers.

New hospice volunteers are needed both in the office and in the field, as some volunteers in the Melrose Park area weren’t able to follow Loyola to Oak Brook, Crockett said.

Office volunteers help with filing and sorting paperwork and reaching out to patients and families interested in hospice.

Volunteers who work in the field are assigned a patient who they visit at home to offer companionship and give caregivers some relief.

“It’s really the day-in and day-out things that they are there to help with, while the family members are just trying to grieve with their loved one,” Crockett said.

Anyone interested in volunteering can call the Oak Brook office at (630) 861-5200 or email volunteer coordinator Heather Hronek at Heather.Hronek@luhs.org.