At the heart of hospice is the invitation for those who are drawn to its mission, to provide comfort, care, and dignity at a time in life that for many is a time of distress, confusion, and pain.  Our focus of care includes a realization that service is owed not only to those who are dying, but to their loved ones as well.  The Bereavement Program at Forbes Hospice and Palliative Care seeks to embody the spirit of that vision of service.

Part of Forbes Hospice and Palliative Care is continued support to families who have lost a loved one. We know that while death may mean the end of a body, it is in no way the end of a relationship.  Our effort is to give honor to and explore the ongoing gifts of legacy of the deceased with those who now feel the pain of the loss.  This is done while the bereaved continues to move forward to reclaim, again, a sense of a meaningful life.  In this work, we wish to help.

We understand that individual needs are personal to the grieving process and are different for everyone.   Believing that one of the most meaningful acts of kindness we can offer to someone who mourns is the gift of listening, we offer many services to help support our goal.  Counseling services, are provided free of charge in an ongoing supportive process already initiated by the nurses, social workers, and staff at hospice. 

Our bereavement service takes several forms.  We contact by phone each and every family who has lost loved ones on our program.  In these contacts we offer a variety of avenues of support such as ongoing individual, couples, or family counseling.  We invite these loved ones to join one or more of our community-based bereavement support groups.  We alert them to our several memorial services held at various locales at differing times of the year.  And we eagerly assist them in referrals for additional exceptional services that are locally available (e.g., The Caring Place for Grieving Children).  We also provide written materials including self-help booklets on grief.  Each family is also provided, free of charge, a one-year subscription to Journeys, a monthly newsletter for the bereaved published by The Hospice Foundation of America.

Each of us can give witness to the courage and strength of a family that has struggled so significantly with the dying and death of a loved one. It is immensely rewarding then, to be part of the healing process through bereavement support that admires the individual goal of understanding grief long enough to rebuild a new life.