Literature Review

In Oregon and around the world, volunteer crafters are ready to finish your loved one’s projects The Oregonian - Homes & Garden; by Janet Eastman; 12/20/24, updated 12/24/24 Sue Heagy touches the colorful yarn circles her late daughter, Angie Kimmel, crocheted to relieve her pain and fear of dying. Kimmel was 39 and working in Corvallis eight years ago when she made her last stitch. ... Over the years, Heagy would take the pieces out to appreciate her daughter’s fine handwork. Late last year, Heagy decided it was time for the “complicated and unusual work” to be completed. She contacted the nonprofit Loose Ends Project and was matched to Bobbie Wallace, a volunteer “finisher” who lives in Arizona near Heagy. ... Heagy, who received the completed throw blanket this summer, said, “It’s so touching, so intimate” how finishers like Wallace work. “To have the sensitivity to delve into the creativity” of someone they never met. The place where Kimmel’s final stitch continued under Wallace’s hands is marked with a tiny heart-shape red button. “When I saw that, I burst out crying,” said Heagy, who has draped the throw blanket across her favorite reading chair. “Angie’s blanket hugs me,” said Heagy, “and it was a real comfort to talk to Bobbie, who has such an open heart, about my daughter.”

Corby boy, 10, set for Arctic trek in tribute to fatherBBC News, by Kate Bradbrook & Brian Farmer; 2/2/24A 10-year-old boy once told he might never walk can look forward to days of "wonder" as he prepares to trek in the Arctic in memory of his late father. Caeden, who has cerebral palsy, was born 12 weeks early. But Caeden, of Corby, Northamptonshire, has climbed Ben Nevis and is now set to meet the Arctic challenge. Mountain guide John Cousins said the "biggest danger in such conditions comes from the cold". Caeden is due to travel to Sweden on Monday with mother Lisa, brother Ashton, 12, and sister Khya, 14.

December challenge: Gift ideas part two ActiveRain; by Kat Palmiotti; 12/17/24 ... My mother dealt with cancer the last four years of her life with an upbeat attitude, ...  So what did she do with the time she had left? The same as always. It was late November 2011 at this point. So what she decided to do was to make a point of purchasing us all our last Christmas present. ... So for me, she purchased me a coffee cup with a lid which is pictured in the feature photo. ... But my mom didn't stop there. She also wrote each of her family members a handwritten letter. Her letter to me talked about me being her first born, and about what I was like during my childhood, and how she felt about my life as an adult. It was a beautiful letter that makes me smile and cry every time I read it. I treasure it. ... So why am I sharing this? Because when I think back on all the gifts I've ever received, it's not jewelry or clothing or anything else that pops into my mind first. It's a $5 cup and a piece of paper with writing on it. And both of those were my mom giving me love. So, when giving gifts to those you care about, give them love. Perhaps grab a piece of paper and a pen and let them know how much you care about them. Or buy them a small carefully selected item that they might use on a daily basis, smiling because it's from you. Because really, it truly is the thought that counts. Let that thought be love.

'A sacred event': Why interest is growing in natural burials San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, TX; by Richard A. Marini; 12/15/24 Proponents of green burials say they are better for the environment and more personal than conventional funerals. Diane Holick has long known she doesn’t want to be buried in a box after she dies. Nor does she want to be cremated. Instead, she wants what’s known as a natural burial, a type of funeral that eschews many of the familiar trappings of today’s burial practices. ... Proponents say natural burials represent a return to what funerals and burials used to be. Natural burials strip away what they see as unsustainable, harmful and expensive practices of what’s sometimes referred to as “the funeral industrial complex.” [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

Supporting grieving kids during the holiday season: Susan Hamme Cleveland.com, Cleveland, OH; Guest columnist Susan Hamme, director of grief services for Hospice of the Western Reserve ... Childhood grief is tricky no matter the time of year, but the holidays can be a time of especially heightened emotion. The sights and sounds of the season can be triggers for children and adults alike. Combine that with an awareness that things will be very different without your special person, and you have the perfect recipe for emotional meltdowns and miscommunication all around. While it may be impossible to avoid this altogether, there are things you can do to lessen the stress and build in moments of peace and celebration.

'A blessing': Hospital beds find new homes in families who had been praying for them Austin American-Statesman, Austin, TX; by Nicole Villalpando; 12/13/24 Ron McDaniel had been trying to find a place for the hospital bed both his dad, Robert, and brother, Gary, had used in the assisted living facility where they were before they died. His father was a Navy veteran who was burned over 30% of his body during World War II. His brother had severe brain damage from a car accident in 1976 and was a quadriplegic. The electronic hospital bed with the extra comfortable mattress and the trapeze bar needed a new home. Ron McDaniel wanted it to go to a veteran or a veteran's family because it originally came from the Veterans Affairs, but he tried organization after organization with no luck. Meanwhile, Sandra Daniels was in desperate need of a hospital bed for her mother, Bertha Woodward, 87, who has heart failure, problems with her kidneys and limited mobility caused in part by neuropathy in her feet. Daniels could not afford a hospital bed but had been trying organization after organization for a year and came up empty. She had recently called AGE of Central Texas to see if they might have a hospital bed. ...Editor's note: Organizations who helped include 26th Statesman Season for Caring, Austin Palliative Care, ATX Firefighter Moving, AGE of Central Texas.

Commentary: The coat my mother never wore National Public Radio - WBUR, Boston, MA; by Karen Propp; 12/11/24 Shortly before Thanksgiving 2018, I bought my 87-year-old mother a winter coat — a silvery-gray one that matched her hair. None of us could remember the last time she had left the house, spoken in full sentences or walked without assistance, but my father hoped that a new ultra-light coat might change things.  ... Having been close to others with progressive or terminal illnesses, I did not share his optimism. But it felt cruel to dash my father’s hope, so I hung the coat in the front hall closet, as if it were a talisman that could bring us a miracle. My mother died peacefully, late in the morning that December 24. By the time the men from the funeral home arrived, it was already dark outside. ...Editor's note: Click on the title's link to read how this simple coat evoked a daughter's grief, coping, and realization of her mother's qualities within herself. Non-clinical leaders: in case you're not aware, the extensive body of grief research reveals that grief does not have a last "stage" of "acceptance." Rather, mourning begins with a first step or "task" of accepting realities of the loss (Worden), with another step or "task" of establishing enduring connection (Worden)--which this daughter found within herself. These are not stages. Rather, they are ongoing cycles (mini and macro), with other identified, individualized dynamics.

A call to action for business leaders in health care: Prioritizing employees’ mental health is a necessity Las Vegas Sun - Veagas Inc; Guest column by Karen Rubel; 12/9/24 As mental health continues to be recognized as a vital component of overall well-being, businesses—especially those in health care—must stay vigilant and proactive in addressing mental health challenges within the workplace. The importance of this issue has never been greater,  ... In a hospice setting, the emotional toll on caregivers is significant. Health care workers often form close bonds with their patients and their families, and the loss of a patient can be deeply affecting. At Nathan Adelson Hospice, our teams regularly come together to review patient care plans, but they also take time to discuss their personal experiences and challenges. These discussions provide an opportunity for our staff to offer mutual support and care. This peer-to-peer connection fosters a sense of community and helps staff process their emotions in a healthy way. ...

Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave & Job Protection - Final Legislative Report University of Washington, Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy & Governance; Lead investigator Heather D. Hill, MPP, PhD, with Tom Lindman, MPP, Diane Rucavado, MPA, and Elizabeth Ford, JD; 12/1/24 This research was funded by ESSB 5187. Additional support for data access and analyses for this research came from the UW Data Collaborative funded by the UW Population Health Initiative, UW’s Student Technology Fee program, the UW’s Provost’s office, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development research infrastructure grant, P2C HD042828 to the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology at the University of Washington. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors.

Hospice of Baton Rouge: New grief center opens offering vital support and healing Unfiltered With Kiran, Baton Rouge, LA; by Megan Kelly; 11/25/24 As the holiday season approaches, a time often filled with joy and togetherness, it can also be a profoundly challenging period for those experiencing grief. The Hospice of Baton Rouge has recognized this need and has transformed a property into a haven of healing: The Retreat at Quarters Lake. This newly established grief center aims to address the significant gap in resources for grieving individuals, a void that became especially apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The Retreat at Quarters Lake provides hope, healing, and connectivity for the grieving through counseling, support groups, alternative grief therapies, and community education,” reads a statement on their website. The facility offers both traditional grief services, such as individual counseling and support groups, and unique, holistic approaches that include art therapy, music therapy, and pet therapy. The goal is to provide a comprehensive support system that caters to individuals of all ages and backgrounds. “We are focusing on some alternative therapies like yoga, meditation, gardening, and even fishing,” said Catherine Schendel, CEO of The Hospice of Baton Rouge. “We want to utilize the beautiful landscaping here to offer non-traditional grief support as well.” 

Lamar Area Hospice’s grief programs are made possible from BBB donations The Prowers Journal, Lamar, CO; by Barbara Crimond; 11/20/24 The words “good” and “grief” don’t commonly go together.  At the Lamar Area Hospice, however, they not only go together but, when combined, embrace the idea of a place to go which allows children and adults to normalize their grief, receive support from others experiencing similar emotional struggles and education in healthy ways to move through their grief.  They learn that they can tell their stories in a safe, loving and nurturing environment.  I recently met with Deb Pelley (Executive Director of Lamar Area Hospice). Roni Vallejos (Children’s Good Grief Coordinator) and Kelsie Cedeno (Adult Bereavement Coordinator) to learn more about these programs.  I could immediately sense the compassion and love for their jobs that all three women have. Before telling me about the programs though, they told me that it was only because of the generous donations from the BBB each year that the programs can even exist. They wanted to express how extremely grateful they are to BBB for enabling them to continue Jillian Sweet Tinnes’s legacy. ...

Stewarding loss Stanford Social Innovation Review; by Camille Acey; 11/19/24 - "Winter 2025" What happens when organizations and institutions need to die? And why is this part of the work often overlooked in systems change and social innovation practice? ... Stewarding Loss is a field-building initiative focused on the process of closure, ending, and dismantling as a journey to be designed. Over the course of several years, Stewarding Loss has engaged in a range of activities, from creating “loss circles” as spaces where people anticipating organizational closures can come to share stories and concerns; to conducting interviews with a range of practitioners involved in end-of-life care, including ritual and ceremonial hosts, grief therapists, and death doulas so we could learn how to translate practices across different contexts; to hosting roundtables with philanthropic foundations and speaking at numerous events to allow us to gather insight and feedback regarding ideas and needs for this work; to prototyping a Farewell Fund to learn what type of invitation and application might encourage organizations to become proactive about closing, and what supports might be needed by people on the journey to closure.

'My charity wedding dress brought me closer to Mum' BBC, Manchester, United Kingdom; 11/16/24 Like many brides, when Jo Johnson started planning her wedding, she wanted her mother to be an integral part of the day. But as June Kiely had died nine years earlier, she faced a puzzle as to how to bring her into the ceremony, until she realised there was a way of both feeling closer to her mum and honouring those who cared for her in her final days. June Kiely died at the St Ann's Hospice in Little Hulton, Salford, in 2015, and in the run up to getting married, Jo found herself at the charity's bridal and vintage shop in Stockport. The 38-year-old said it was a "magic moment" as she knew instantly it was the place where she would find the perfect dress. Jo said getting her dress from the shop was "a really special way to include my mum but also to give back to the hospice for everything they'd done." She said the hospice had given her mum "incredible care" and as soon as she walked into the shop, she knew she was "doing the right thing."