title: A volunteer program for helping families in a critical care unit.
abstract: When patients are critically ill, their families suffer extreme emotional distress, often without the support of staff who must focus first on patients' needs. This article describes a social work program that has successfully used volunteers in a critical care unit to facilitate communication between family members and staff, lessen the family's sense of isolation, and provide responsive services in a crisis-oriented setting.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002173:Cancer Care Facilities; D002648:Child; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D006748:Hospital Departments; D006758:Hospital Volunteers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D009519:New York City; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D012948:Social Work Department, Hospital; D014789:Visitors to Patients; D000078329:Workforce