Hospice Foundation of America
E-Newsletter
Volume 5, Issue 6
June 2005
http://www.hospicefoundation.org
In this issue:
- Message from David Abrams, President
- Focus On: Children, Adolescents and
Bereavement
Between Knowledge and Practice - Ethical Dilemmas at the End of Life
- What's New@HFA
- Site Coordinator’s Corner
Message from David Abrams, President
Summer is generally thought of as a time of fun and relaxation for kids. But children and adolescents who are grieving the death of a loved one can feel isolated and confused about their feelings. As many of our non-hospice subscribers know, all hospices offer bereavement services to the families of those who died on their programs. But did you know that many hospices expand their services to their communities by running specialized programs to children who have experienced loss? There is no reimbursement for this; hospices offer these services out of a sense of mission. This is another way that hospices strengthen the communities they serve beyond their immediate care for the dying, and this commitment too often goes unrecognized.
Focus on: Children, Adolescents and Bereavement
Children and adolescents, as well as adults, face myriad losses every day, and they do grieve these losses. Of course, loved ones die - grandparents, parents, siblings, schoolmates. So do beloved pets - often a child’s first experience with death. Other losses do not involve death, but can generate grief reactions. One of the most significant loss situations facing children is divorce. Children also may have to relocate, or go to a new school. And, as children move into adolescence, there are the more subtle but important losses - loss of identity, loss of roles, loss of self-esteem.
A critical factor in helping children and adolescents cope with loss is grounded in more current conceptions of the grief process - that grief is not something you "get over." Losses that they experience early in life may be revisited at critical developmental stages or during important life events. The more that educators, counselors, school administrators, parents, and anyone else who works with children and adolescents realize this, the more equipped they will be to help young people cope with grief and incorporate loss in their lives in ways that are mentally and physically healthy.
Many hospices and other community organizations run support groups for children. These groups bring kids together with counselors who understand what they are facing. Many organizations also run bereavement camps that allow kids to recognize that all-important feeling that they are not alone in their experiences, while still enjoying summertime camp activities. Does your organization or community run a support group for kids or a bereavement camp? If so, what have been some of its great successes? And what are some concerns you have identified when thinking about the future of these programs? Write to us at questions@hospicefoundation.org so we can learn more. We'll share the answers with our readers in a future e-newsletter.
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The best way to help and prepare children for the future is through education and understanding of the day-to-day ramifications that loss and grief have on them.
Growthhouse has an excellent database of resources for helping children cope with grief; there are also separate resources for children dealing with illness.
Hospice Foundation of America has developed resources focusing on Children, Adolescents, and Loss. These include FAQs about the topic, with answers written by experts such as Kenneth Doka and Nancy Boyd Webb. The site also includes Eight Myths about Children and Loss.
Charles Corr created an excellent bibliography of developmentally-appropriate books for kids to help them learn more about grief and loss. A PDF version can be found on HFA’s website.
While excellent resources exist for professionals interested in helping children cope, the perspectives of the young people themselves can often be lost. To ensure that these voices were heard, Hospice Foundation of America developed the Adolescent Issue of our bereavement newsletter Journeys, which features articles written by young people about their experiences with grief and loss. Read an article written by 14-year-old Brett Hardy after the deaths of his mother and best friend.
The Compassionate Friends is a national nonprofit, self-help support organization that offers friendship, understanding, and hope to bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings. Many hospices and other healthcare organizations work closely with local chapters of The Compassionate Friends to provide support to bereaved families in their communities. The Compassionate Friends have developed "When a Brother or Sister Dies," a brochure for siblings.
KIDSAID is part of GriefNet, an Internet resource for anyone dealing with grief or major loss. KIDSAID is a place where grieving kids can go to get help and to help each other.
Ethical Dilemmas at the End of Life
HFA's recent teleconference on Ethical Dilemmas at the End of Life generated a great deal of questions, via phone and e-mail, both during and after the program. HFA has compiled these questions on its website; answers to the questions were provided by panelists: William H. Colby, JD; Charles Corr, PhD, CT; Kenneth J. Doka, PhD; Bruce Jennings; William Lamers MD; and JoAnne Reifsnyder PhD, APRN, BC-PCM. The questions provide an excellent follow-up to the program, but also serve as an independent resource to help answer some of today's most pressing questions about ethics and end-of-life care.
The full-length version of this year's teleconference is now available on videotape and in DVD format. The 1-hour version will be available by June 27, but orders can be placed now. These tapes and other resources can be ordered via our website or by calling us at 800-854-3402.
HFA now has a beautiful four-color catalog featuring information about our print, video, and audio resources. HFA's books, recordings of past teleconference programs, brochures about grief, and our bereavement newsletter Journeys, are used by both professionals and laypeople. Please send an email to hfaoffice@hospicefoundation.org to receive a free copy of the catalog. You might discover a great resource for your work, or might want to share it with a colleague. HFA's usual free offerings and low prices are being maintained, as we are dedicated to combining value with quality.
Work on our 2006 teleconference, "Pain at the End of Life: Bridging the Gap Between Knowledge and Practice." is well underway. This e-newsletter will be the first place where we will announce the date, so stay tuned!
This newsletter is sent to more than 6,800 subscribers on the 2nd Wednesday of every month to keep you informed of what is happening in the fields of hospice, grief and bereavement, and caregiving, as well as what's new at HFA. We encourage you to forward this e-newsletter to an interested colleague or friend. To subscribe, go to HFA's E-Newsletter sign-up page.Privacy Statement: In no case will we share e-mail addresses. See the full text of HFA's Privacy Policy.
This newsletter is published by Hospice Foundation of America
Jack D. Gordon, Chairman
David Abrams, President
http://www.hospicefoundation.org
Board of Directors: Thomas E. Bryant, MD, JD; Myra MacPherson; Priscilla Perry;
Patricia Spulak; Thomas Spulak
© Hospice Foundation of America 2005
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