Our Heroes
Hand Lotion with Heart Volunteer at Our Lady of Peace Geriatric Unit Volunteer Linda Phillips is a volunteer who really enjoys her work and finds it very rewarding. Phillips says, “Holding a patient’s hand while applying lotion can help alleviate feelings of loneliness and separation, as well as moisturize their skin.”
Linda Phillips, Volunteer at OLOP (submitted by Brenda Henderson)
Some days she may feel like her work is not rewarding, later to find out that she has made a difference in someone’s life, even if it is just a little difference.
On one such occasion she was encouraged to enter a patient’s room that was not communicating and applied lotion with her caring touch. “The patient and I were alone in her room,” said Phillips. “I sat on the side of her bed and applied hand lotion. I recall how pretty and peaceful she looked. After I finished, I gave her a pat on the hand, wished her a good day, told her to get well soon, and told her I would see her soon. I thought to myself that here I was talking to someone who didn’t hear me and didn’t even know I was in the room with her. Talk about feeling like what you do doesn’t matter. It was one of those days!”
A few weeks later, Phillips saw the same patient again with her daughter as she entered her room to provide the hand lotion service again. Her daughter explained that her mother had been unaware of her surroundings for several weeks, but had begun slowly remembering. The patient began smiling as Phillips began applying the lotion. After a few moments, the patient asked if she had ever done this for her before. She looked her straight in the eyes and said she remembered it and that it felt good. Then, the patient patted Phillips on the hand just like she had done a few weeks before. At that moment, Phillips knew she had made a difference.
“Simply applying hand lotion with a caring touch and compassionate presence can help to reassure those who are confused, calm those who are agitated, nurture and ground the disoriented person in present time and space. It reinforces verbal communication and reduces the need for medication and physical restraints,” explains Chaplain Lynn Roberson, who introduced the Hand Lotion with Heart Program at Our Lady of Peace.
