No One Dies Alone at Valley View
- Category: Volunteer, Acute Care
- Posted On:
- Written By: Amiee Beazley
It’s never easy to talk about, but at the end of life, there are those among us who don’t have anyone to support them during their final transition. There are many reasons why a patient might find themselves alone at the end of life, and at Valley View there is a volunteer program to support those individuals.
No One Dies Alone (NODA) is a volunteer program that places “Compassionate Companions” with end-of-life-patients who don’t have family, friends or support in place nearby. NODA volunteers sit in a vigil, companioning those who find themselves in the final hours of life. Although not called often, when they are, these volunteers make a difference.
NODA began as a national program in November 2001 when, according to the program’s founder, Nurse Sandra Clarke from Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Wash., said she had a brief encounter with a patient near death with a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order. “During my initial rounds, he asked, barely audible, ‘Will you stay with me?’ I said, ‘Sure, as soon as I check my other patients.’”
When Sandra returned and hour and a half later, the patient was dead.
That night Sandra came up with the idea for No One Dies Alone (NODA), a network of volunteers who attend the alone and dying. A staff nurse initiates a NODA vigil for a patient by contacting the NODA vigil coordinator who then calls NODA program volunteers. Those “Compassionate Companions” sit at the bedside of patients who are in their final hours without family, friends or loved ones, who either do not exist or are in the process of getting to their loved one’s bedside.
The NODA program came to Valley View thanks to Lesa Russo, a former radiation oncology nurse at Calaway-Young Cancer Center, who sought out the NODA program after inquiring with Valley View nurses about how to best care for actively dying patients.
According to Sean Jeung, NODA coordinator at Valley View, the first NODA training took place at the hospital in 2016. Preparation for NODA requires personal and spiritual maturity and a comforting, quiet presence at the bedside during one of life’s most profound and mysterious moments.
NODA volunteers, Jeung says, should have tolerance for spiritual needs of patients, the ability to sit for long periods of time, follow confidentiality and infection control guidelines and have a non-judgmental manner with persons of all faiths. The intent is to provide a healing presence to help the patient feel they have not been abandoned.
“The need does not present often, but when it does, these specially trained volunteers are invaluable,” says Jeung.
There is no clinical training required when becoming a NODA volunteer. There is no role playing, no skill set needed and no tests. Hours are on call at the time of a volunteer’s choosing, and volunteers are notified when the need for a companion occurs.
The next NODA volunteer training at Valley View will take place in spring 2025. To learn more about volunteer opportunities at Valley View, visit