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Santa Barbara, CA. September 29, 2025 – Hospice of Santa Barbara’s (HSB) No One Dies Alone (NODA) program has partnered with local senior living facilities in Santa Barbara for over a decade, providing compassionate volunteer support to seniors in their final 24 to 72 hours when family or friends are unavailable
Currently, NODA has 21 trained volunteers serving in the program. Before becoming a NODA volunteer, applicants must graduate from a six-week patient care training and serve as a patient care volunteer for a minimum of 9 months before attending a NODA specific training. Most NODA volunteers have been with the program for years and feel a strong commitment to the work they do.
“I’ve been volunteering with HSB for 10 years,” said Judy Bartlein, a current NODA volunteer. “Caring for my own mother, who died of ALS, helped me develop skills that I can now apply to help other people,” said Bartlein.
Bartlein explained that many HSB volunteers get started the same way, with their own personal experiences, as it often takes first-hand involvement to appreciate the support hospice volunteers can give.
As an HSB Patient Care Services volunteer, Bartlein has been serving her current patient for two hours a week for nearly 4 years. This differs from her work with NODA because NODA volunteers are on-call in order to serve those who are actively dying.
“They may or may not have family nearby,” Bartlein said. “If they do have family, maybe the family wants a break or needs some respite. Sometimes it’s a matter of waiting for a family member from out of the area to arrive, so we sit with the patient so they’re not alone while they’re waiting for the person to travel.”
Each NODA volunteer has routines or patterns for how they comfort a patient who is in the act of “transitioning,” as they call the process the body goes through leading up to death.
“Usually the patient is non-responsive, and they’re just lying there quietly, and we try to make it a very peaceful environment for them,” Bartlein said. “I’ll often play them music that was popular when they were in their teens and 20s, because that’s generally the music that speaks to us. I’ll search and then pull up music on my iPhone and play it softly. I know other NODA volunteers read to the patients they work with. Sometimes it’s simply holding their hand and being present,” said Bartlien.
Mike Champion is another long-time HSB and NODA volunteer. He said his background of life experiences and work as a firefighter helped him feel comfortable in the settings where he finds himself comforting those in the active state of transitioning.
“I consider it sacred to be invited into that space, and to share that space with that individual during this time,” Champion said. “It’s an honor. It’s a lot of different adjectives. It’s precious, as odd as that might sound to some people.”
He recounted an experience where he was sitting with a patient who was in a congregate care center with patients on the left and right, and a lot was going on in that space as the patient took her last breath. At the appropriate time, he was able to excuse himself to find a nurse to let him know the patient had transitioned.
“It was late at night, and the nurse walks in and she takes one look at the patient and breaks into tears,” Champion said. “And I just turn and throw my arms around her and give her a big hug. And I thought, how could I presume that just because this is what people do for a living, that it isn’t difficult for them as well. That night I realized, we’re there not just for the person that’s dying but we’re also there for others, including caregivers.”
Paloma Espino, an administrator at Sarah House, Santa Barbara, is grateful for the support NODA provides her residents and staff.
“NODA volunteers have, for many years, sat with our residents and provided them with the presence of someone who cares to be a companion during transition. They have sat at the bedside for those who don’t want to be alone during this time, providing company to those who have no family or friends locally who can hold their hand,” said Espino. “These volunteers honor death with respect, compassion, and true, intimate attentiveness. They know the great secret of life: everyone dies, and perhaps one day, they too will need someone by their bedside. For us, here at Sarah House, welcoming these volunteers to help us care for our residents is like welcoming a trusted friend with a loved one,” said Espino.
Hospice of Santa Barbara Volunteer Services Manager Elske Free Bernt is actively reaching out to additional senior care communities to bring them into the program. “If you are an administrator at an assisted living or skilled nursing community in Santa Barbara and would like to offer NODA services, please reach out to Hospice of Santa Barbara,” said Free Bernt. Contact Elske Free Bernt, Volunteer Services Manager at HSB. “If you have a family member living at a local nursing home and are interested in NODA services, please speak with your contact at the residence and ask them to reach out to us.”
Free Bernt stresses that NODA volunteers do not go into private homes, and HSB is not seeking additional NODA volunteers at this time. She can be reached at the HSB offices at (805)563-8820.
Currently, NODA serves Sarah House, Heritage House, Serenity House, Villa Alamar, The Californian, and Vista del Monte.
Hospice of SB was founded in 1974, making it the second-oldest hospice organization in the country. It employs about 50 staff and over 100 volunteers who serve 2,100 people with direct services and hundreds more with training classes, workshops, education, and outreach events. All services provided by the organization are free of charge.
