Literature Review

Navigating the aftermath of natural disasters Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); by Lara McKinnis; 11/15/24 This morning I woke up to two bears outside, a little cub sitting on our front steps eating the pumpkin that my daughter recently carved, the mom nearby completely sprawled out lounging in the sun in a bed of freshly fallen yellow and orange oak leaves.  This is the “fall” that I look forward to every year in Asheville. I wanted to hold onto this feeling, all of us standing at our screened-in window talking to the bears as if they understood us, our dog enthusiastically joining in the conversation.  This feeling is alive and vibrant; however, so is the visceral awareness of the horrific despair that has engulfed my beloved community and so many communities in Western North Carolina. ...  Adjusting to a natural disaster is nuanced and layered.  [Click on the title's link to continue reading this hospice leader's reflections and professional guidance.]

[Switzerland] A French-language web-based intervention targeting prolonged grief symptoms in people who are bereaved and separated: Randomized controlled trialJMIR Formative Research; Anik Debrot, Liliane Efinger, Maya Kheyar, Valentino Pomini, Laurent Berthoud; 10/24Losing a loved one, through death or separation, counts among the most stressful life events and is detrimental to health and well-being. About 15% of people show clinically significant difficulties coping with such an event. Web-based interventions (WBIs) are effective for a variety of mental health disorders, including prolonged grief. However, no validated WBI is available in French for treating prolonged grief symptoms.

Blue Ridge Care expands bereavement care with new Center for Hope & Healing Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 11/1/24 Blue Ridge Care has unveiled its new Center for Hope & Healing, a facility dedicated to offering comprehensive grief care. The Virginia-based nonprofit hospice, palliative care and PACE provider financed the center through philanthropic donations. The facility is located in the same building as Blue Ridge’s PACE program, according to CEO Jason Parsons. At the center, Blue Ridge bereavement care staff will offer specialized programs, workshops, support groups and individual counseling. “The center is a central organizing unit of our mission fulfillment in the areas of grief, family support and loss in a place people can come to that’s welcoming, inviting and centered around hope and healing,” Parsons told Hospice News. ... The center was built to create a relaxing atmosphere to help put visitors at ease, according to Parsons, with a sky blue color palette and several murals depicting natural scenes. In one display, a collection of rocks symbolizes the weight of grief. Visitors can write a message on the rocks to “leave that weight behind,” Parsons said. They can also paint their loved ones’ names on a mural of a branching tree in the lobby area. 

Dia De Los Muertos can provide powerful healing for anyone who is grieving a loved one Santa Barbara Independent; by Hospice of Santa Barbara; 10/29/24 Many of those who have lost a loved one are looking for ways to manage their grief and Hospice of Santa Barbara (HSB) helps to navigate this often-painful journey in a variety of ways.  This may include grief counseling, support groups, and healing modalities such as poetry and art.  ... Day of the Dead (Dia de Los Muertos) has become an increasingly popular holiday in the United States as it is seen as a valuable way to reconnect with those who have died and relieve grief in an individual and shared ritual of celebration. Dia De Los Muertos is a two-day holiday that reunites the living and dead, November 1 and 2. Families create ofrendas (offerings) to honor their departed family members that have passed. These altars are decorated with bright yellow marigold flowers, photos of the departed, and the favorite foods and drinks of the one being honored. The offerings are believed to encourage visits from the land of the dead as the departed souls hear their prayers, smell their food and join in the celebrations. Day of the Dead is a holiday for celebrating death and life where mourning is combined with celebration.  

The usage of family audiobooks as a legacy for grieving children — an exploratory quantitative analysis among terminally ill parents and close persons Springer Nature Link - Open Access; by Gülay Ate, Michaela Hesse and Henning Cuhls; 10/25/24Since 2017, terminally ill parents with dependent children under the age of 18 have been able to record an audiobook for their dependent children. This service allows them to narrate how they would like to be remembered in their voice. The family audiobook is a professionally supported, voluntary, free service that is unique in Germany. ... Conclusions: The family audiobook provides a valuable opportunity for terminally ill parents with dependent children under the age of 18 to tell their own biographical story, offer support to the bereaved in remembering, and preserve the voice of the deceased for the children. In addition, this approach could help healthcare professionals to reduce the stress associated with providing end-of-life care for terminally ill parents. Editor's note: While this service and this evaluation are located in Germany, it can be replicated easily with today's user-friendly technologies. First and foremost are patient empowerment, privacy, and ownership of these most personal messages. Examine using your spiritual care, social work, and/or grief counselors to facilitate this project.

Video: North Hawaii Hospice holds lantern floating ceremony Big Island Video News; 10/15/24 The annual floating lantern ceremony was held Sunday evening at the Fairmont Orchid. ... The event was organized by North Hawaii Hospice, ... “The goal is to honor and remember those who have passed, in a group setting,” said North Hawaiʻi Hospice executive director Faye Mitchell. “We get to share in our grief, but also in our joy about the people that we’ve loved and who are no longer with us.” ... “When people come, they have a lantern paper which they get to decorate and write messages for their loved ones. And then they put that lantern paper onto a base, and at sunset we helped them light a candle in that lantern. ... “I am an organizer of this event, but I am definitely also a participant,” Mitchell said. “I lost my son Geno in February of this year. He was 24 years old. I have to say, one of the key things I learned from the experience is that grief shouldn’t be kept to myself. ... There’s something about sharing your grief with others who know what it’s like. So that’s why I share it even now, with everyone watching, because if … you’ve lost someone you’re not alone, and if you share this experience with others you’d be surprised how many people have gone through this. It’s so much better not to be alone in this."

Kaiser Health Care: Navigating Aging: Older men’s connections often wither when they’re on their own Tahlequah Daily Press; by Judith Graham; 10/12/24 At age 66, South Carolina physician Paul Rousseau decided to retire after tending for decades to the suffering of people who were seriously ill or dying. It was a difficult and emotionally fraught transition. … Seeking a change of venue, Rousseau moved to the mountains. … Soon, a sense of emptiness enveloped him. … His work as a doctor had been all-consuming. Former colleagues didn’t get in touch, nor did he reach out. His wife had passed away after a painful illness, … His isolation mounted as his three dogs, his most reliable companions, died. Rousseau was completely alone — without friends, family, or a professional identity — and overcome by a sense of loss. “I was a somewhat distinguished physician with a 60-page resume,” Rousseau, now 73, wrote in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society in May. “Now, I’m ‘no one,’ a retired, forgotten old man who dithers away the days.” In some ways, older men living alone are disadvantaged compared with older women in similar circumstances. Research shows that men tend to have fewer friends than women and be less inclined to make new friends. Often, they’re reluctant to ask for help.

Hospices leverage school-based partnerships to strengthen bereavement care Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 10/7/24 Some hospices have increasingly recognized the value of collaborating with local educators when it comes to improving community grief support for bereaved children and their families. Establishing collaborative relationships with educational institutions can help hospices ensure that they’re developing age-appropriate grief services, according to Cole Warner, director of support services at North Carolina-based Hospice of Davidson County. The nonprofit provides hospice services across 10 counties in its service area and also offers bereavement and veteran programs. The ability to identify and communicate grief-related emotions ranges across different age groups, and bereavement care teams need to be well-versed on youths’ cognitive capacity, Warner said. This involves having educators weigh in the common challenges that kids experience along their grief journeys. ...

Aroostook House of Comfort honors the late Dr. Jones The County, Presque Isle, ME; 10/4/24 On Sunday, September 15, friends, family, and colleagues gathered at the Aroostook House of Comfort to celebrate the  life and enduring legacy of Dr. David Jones, a great man who touched the hearts of many in his community and beyond. Dr. Jones, who  passed unexpectedly on October 22, 2023, was a devoted family man, an esteemed medical director for Northern Light Home Care & Hospice, a committed Aroostook Hospice Foundation board member and a cherished friend. With a medical career that spanned decades, Dr. Jones made a lasting impact across the region. ... In a heartfelt ceremony, Dr. Jones’ family dedicated a bench, a stepping stone, two trees and two blueberry bushes, all nestled within the  grounds of the Aroostook House of Comfort. A beautiful memorial plaque is also displayed within the Aroostook House of Comfort. 

Longview hospice adds handmade quilt donations under new management The Daily News; by Minka Atkinson; 9/27/24 At PeaceHealth Ray Hickey Hospice House in Vancouver, patients receive handmade quilts to drape their beds that are then donated to their family as a memento after their passing. PeaceHealth is now looking to bring this tradition to Richard Nau Hospice House, which it took over in November. “It gives the home, cozy feeling to those patients,” Hospice Volunteer Program supervisor Jennifer Linde said. The quilts are sourced through donations from local community groups, like the Kalama Quilters and Calvary Community Church, Linde said. Individual quilters are also welcome to contribute. ...

Bereaved mum shares 'what not to say' in new book BBC News; by Roger Johnson and Jonny Humphries; 9/24/24 A bereaved mother has written a book exploring the sensitive topic of how to speak to a parent struck by the loss of a child. Singer and entertainer Kiki Deville, from Earby, said she felt as if she would "never experience joy again" after losing her four-week-old son Dexter in 2007. Dexter died from the rare genetic condition Zellweger Syndrome and spent his last days in Chorley children's hospice Derian House, of which Ms. Deville is now a patron.  Her work there, including countless conversations with other parents, informed her book 'What Not To Say: A Practical Guide to Supporting Bereaved Parents'. Ms. Deville said 17 years after the loss of Dexter, she still remembers the first time someone made the well-meaning but painful comment: "At least he was just a baby." "Now that infers were he older, his death would have mattered more," she told the BBC.  From speaking to other mothers, Ms. Deville also gave examples such as "at least you have other children" and "they're in a better place" as things not to say. She said: "It's really important to recognise that nobody says anything out of malice, I don't think anybody sets out to hurt."Editor's note, calling all non-clinical hospice and palliative care leaders: Your interactions with bereaved parents speak volumes. Do you convey cheap platitudes or wise empathy? Incorporate these human vulnerabilities into your leadership skills. Open yourself to the pain of experiencing the pain and joys of your organization's palliative/hospice pediatric families. Invest a day of shadowing with a pediatric interdisciplinary team member. Be willing to go there. Be willing to be there: physically, mentally,  emotionally, and spiritually (without imposing your own onto others).

[Honoring Hispanic Heritage Month] Artists on death, grief, and cancer Burnaway; by Carolina Ana Drake; 9/17/24... Living in Miami and raising my toddler in this city, I’ve discovered artists who similarly lost a parent to cancer. Many, like me, happen to be the children of immigrants. Their works exemplify challenging, at times experimental, art that doesn’t fit the glitzy, market-driven Miami narrative. Through conversations and email exchanges, I learned more about how these artists transformed the darkness and grief of that period into something beautiful that is worth sharing with others. [Click on the title's link to see photos from the following exhibits.]

Mental health jobs to grow 3X more than the rate of all US jobs Becker's Hospital Review; by Erica Carbajal; 9/9/24 By 2033, employment growth in mental health professions is expected to triple that of average job growth in the U.S., according to a CNN analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the median projected employment growth for all occupations across the next decade is 4%, the rate for mental health-related jobs is 12%. This includes psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, counselors, psychiatric aids and social workers, according to CNN's report published Sept. 7. Editor's note: Too often, mental health health jobs in hospice and palliative care are relegated to low status on priorities for staffing, instead of the regulatory high priority for "whole-person" care defined throughout the CMS Hospice Conditions of Participation. As significant changes continue to unfold for hospice and palliative services, we will continue to report trends and shifts that emerge in the healthcare landscape for mental health jobs.