The Calgary Ostomy Society will hold an Ostomy Visitor Training Course on May 11, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. at the Shawnessy Library. If you can’t attend in person, a Zoom option will be available. This session is open to new volunteers and those who require recertification.

What Is The Ostomy Visitor Program?

The Ostomy Visitor Program aims to reduce the emotional burden of people who have undergone or will undergo ostomy or j-pouch surgery so they may return to their former physical, social, and economic status. The purpose of the Ostomy Visitor Program is to certify members of the Calgary Ostomy Society as trained ostomy visitors. It is the ultimate objective of the program to make trained visitors available to people and their support persons. Learn more…

Become a Certified Ostomy Visitor!

This course will prepare you to share your ostomy journey with new patients via phone, Zoom, or in the hospital. We hope that you will further develop your visiting skills and knowledge so that you will be able to offer help to people living with an ostomy and their families who need reassurance and practical information.

There are three requirements to become a Certified Ostomy Visitor:

1. Completion of the Visitor Training Program.
2. Active membership with the Calgary Ostomy Society. The cost is $30/year*.
3. A recent background check, (approximately $25*), completed by your local law enforcement detachment; ask for the background check specifically for those in a volunteer/hospital setting. Once you commit to the training session, we will provide a personalized letter for you to take to law enforcement.
   1. Calgary Police Services – Police Information Check
   2. RCMP – Criminal Record Check

* Both of these items are at your cost. The membership helps support patients Canada-wide. 

We ask you to provide these specific critical pieces of information to the Coordinator so that we can track our Visitors on a national basis. Your information is also required so the national office can send your Congratulatory Letter, Certificate, and Visitor Card upon course completion. It will also provide insurance coverage through our national policy.

If you are interested in becoming a Certified Ostomy Visitor, you will also need to complete the Volunteer Application, in addition to your RSVP.