Hospice & Palliative Care of the Piedmont recognizes that the needs of family and friends continue after the death of a loved one. Hospice & Palliative Care has developed a bereavement support and service program that strives to offer a warm and caring presence as well as to provide grief education for those in need. The program also exists to promote healthy grieving and healing from the pain of loss.
As every individual is unique, so to are the needs of the grieving person. Hospice & Palliative Care of the Piedmont offers a wide variety of services to meet these various needs.
Bereaved families of hospice patients are generally offered support services for at least one year, but this to can vary according to the needs of each person/family.
The following programs, services and educational opportunities are available to families servce by Hospice & Palliative Care of the Piedmont:
- Continued contact for support is available from Hospice & Palliative Care staff and volunteers. Individual grief counseling is available when appropriate.
- Regular mailings are sent to grieving families which contain practical and educational material about the grief process and suggestions for coping during this time of adjustment.
- Several ongoing monthly support groups are offered which are uniquely designed for those experiencing grief. The support groups enable grieving people a place to receive comfort, friendship, reassurance, social support and understanding.
- Peridically, an educational series on loss and grief and the ways in which it affects us physically, emotionally, legally, and spiritually is offered.
- Special programs are offered to help families prepare for and deal with the difficult holiday season while experiencing grief.
- An annual Memorial Service is held. This service is a special time for people to gather and reflect upon and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
- Hospice & Palliative Care maintains a substantial lending library consisting of books, videos, and other resource information on a wide variety of topics relating to terminal illness, grief and loss. Also available are brochures that may be taken for educational and posting purposes.
- Project Hope grew out of Hospice & Palliative Care’s desire to reach the needs of grieving children and teens. It is a collaborative effort between the schools, human service providers, and Hospice & Palliative Care that offers one-to-one grief support, school-based grief support groups, a mentor program, and Camp Celebrate Hope – a weekend camping experience for youth.