Grief is not contained by time or place. Loved ones will grieve not only at home but also at work, school, or worship. How well organizations respond to the grieving persons in their midst will either complicate or facilitate their grief. The sensitivity of persons within these environments, especially those in leadership roles, as well as the flexibility and support of organizational policies, can therefore have profound effects on the course of the grieving experience. And the better the organizations respond, the more rapidly they can become completely focused on their missions, as work teams return to cohesiveness.
Hospices can help.
Under Medicare law, bereavement services are provided to the families of hospice patients for up to a year after death. Because of that mission, hospices have developed a unique expertise in the care of the bereaved. Hospices bring their decades of experience and extensive knowledge of the nature of the bereavement process to work, school, and faith communities. Such assistance not only supports family members in their grief but also empowers them to take more significant roles in the care of the dying loved one. By lessening the stress or conflict between their work and school roles and their family responsibilities and by strengthening the support from their faith communities, hospices can provide critical support to both family members and dying patients.