Grief is a universal experience that impacts everyone differently. For many, the loss of a loved one can lead to feelings of isolation, confusion and heartache. Recognizing this, November is a month to promote understanding, provide support and encourage open conversations about loss through National Grief and Bereavement Day on November 19th, and Children’s Grief Awareness Day on November 21st.
For children, grief can manifest in many ways, including behavioural challenges, withdrawal, or even physical symptoms. Children’s Grief Awareness Day serves to shine a light on these challenges and shows the importance of providing a supportive environment for young people navigating their grief. It also emphasizes the need for parents, educators and caregivers to recognize and validate children’s feelings and to encourage them to express their emotions in healthy ways.
Here are some of the ways HPCO has been dedicated to improving the quality of hospice grief and bereavement services in Ontario.
In 2018, HPCO developed a Grief and Bereavement Service Support Service Standard, in partnership with hospices. HPCO has been accrediting hospice Grief and Bereavement Support Programs since 2019. In 2022, HPCO added grief and bereavement as a service type in the Client Check-In tool, available through the Quality and Measurement Platform. This tool, completed by a hospice staff member, is based on questions asked either to the client receiving care, or their caregiver. The Client Check-In tool focuses on outcome indicators related to patient-level impact, satisfaction, location preference, care plan involvement and needs assessment. The results from this tool can guide quality improvement, monitoring and evaluation of hospice services provided in Ontario.
HPCO’s Grief and Bereavement Interest Group, chaired by Samantha Miller from the Jewish Hospice Program at Jewish Family and Child Service, meets a few times each year to exchange knowledge and ideas about grief and bereavement services.
In 2023, the Honourable Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, announced $10 million in funding for hospice grief and bereavement services. Due to this, in 2024 HPCO and a team of experts have been developing indicators to measure the impact and outcomes of the grief and bereavement hospice services being provided in Ontario. This information will help gain more information on the services provided and will ensure that the services meet the needs of clients and their family members
HPCO continues to work with Government to increase this funding up to $25 million by 2025/2026. This will help meet the unmet need for grief and bereavement services in Ontario.
HPCO offers a wealth of information and resources to support those grieving and to educate others on how to help. Caregiver Support Education offers resources and supports, including helpful information to those who are grieving.
Additionally, HPCO offers educational resources for health-care professionals that support the knowledge of grief, loss and bereavement; all essential competencies when working in hospice palliative care. The PACE for PSWs program supports the development of these competencies.
We would also like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the many hospice grief and bereavement programs available in Ontario:
- Dorothy Ley Hospice Parent loss support group offers a supportive and safe space for adults to explore their grief after the loss of a parent.
- Hospice Simcoe offers a wide selection of grief and bereavement programming, including a Young Adult Parent Loss support group, a Sibling Loss support group, and Ended Beginnings – a program providing peer support for parents who have experienced the loss of a pregnancy or death of an infant. In 2024, Hospice Simcoe also announced a partnership with Seasons Centre for Grieving Children. This partnership will make it easier and faster for individuals and families seeking assistance to get support from their collaborative team.
- Hospice Georgian Triangle began offering a new young adult program, “Grief Talks,” which provides education to attendees about the scientific aspects of grief, along with practical advice on how to support those impacted.
- Hospice Niagara has a number of different grief writing, art and music programs, such as Writing Through Grief, Music for the Family and Art Expressions.
Looking for more grief and bereavement support or resources? Visit our webpage about Grief and Bereavement Supports.
HPCO thanks all hospice palliative care staff and volunteers involved in providing grief and bereavement services to your local communities.
#Grief2024 #hospicepalliativecare #RememberReflectConnect #HereForEachOther
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