You find yourself alone in a hospital room, dying, with no one to hold your hand, say you're loved or say goodbye. But Mayo Clinic has adopted a national program to ensure that doesn't happen. Mayo has trained dozens of volunteers to become "compassionate companions," as part of No One Dies Alone, a national program that the clinic has adopted as its own…Volunteer coordinator Barbara Kermisch said parent-less patients, those not close to family and others can end up alone when life ebbs.

Post-Bulletin, Jeff Hansel, 11/2/11

Tags: Mayo Clinic Rochester