Grief & Bereavement Services

Grief Support:

Augusta Health Hospice of the Shenandoah has an expansive Grief Support Program that
provides individual and group support to the family members of our hospice patients and
also to the community at large, who are grieving the death of a loved one – spouse, parent,
child, sibling, friend, or someone significant in their life.

Grief Support provides the opportunity for one to share their grief experience in a caring
and supportive environment. Through the validation of one’s feelings and emotions and
the education regarding the grieving process, one can gain a better understanding of grief
– how it varies with each individual; there’s no specific time frame; we grieve because we
love; and most importantly, grief is a natural, normal, and necessary response to loss.

Grief Support Services are offered to our hospice patients’ bereaved family members for 13 months. The Bereavement Coordinator makes an initial phone contact to the designated family member(s) approximately 3 weeks after the death to explain services, identify needs, and determine appropriate plan of care. Grief support is available via:

• Individual visits in the home or office
• Scheduled phone calls and mailings throughout the year
• Grief Support Groups. Click the link below to see current offerings.

All Grief Support Services are provided FREE OF CHARGE to our hospice families, the
community, and other surrounding areas.

Grief & Loss Resources

• www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/mental-health-resources/grief-and-loss-resources
• www.helpguide.org/articles/grief/coping-with-grief-and-loss.htm
• www.nhpco.org/patients-and-caregivers/grief-and-loss/grief-support/
• Grieving Children & Families
• Living With Loss
• The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
• Check List for What to Do After Someone Dies – AARP (Available in English and Spanish)
• Grief Handout
• Normal Grief Responses

Community Bereavement

The death of a loved one changes your life in nearly every way possible. Often, the journey of grief is painful and wrought with many complex emotions. Finding the support you need to help you work through these emotions is important in order to begin the process of healing. Augusta Health Hospice of the Shenandoah’s Community Bereavement Program can provide you with extra care and support as you adjust to life without your loved one. We are not here to simply point the way, but to walk alongside you by offering compassion, comfort, and connection throughout your grief journey.

Life’s most painful moments should not be faced alone.

The Community Bereavement Program offers a variety of loss-specific grief support
groups for community members who have experienced a difficult loss due to a death. The
groups are open to the public and are designed to provide a safe, confidential setting for
bereaved individuals to process their grief with others who have similar experiences.

Hospice of the Shenandoah also offers short-term, one-on-one support to individuals and
families who are coping with the loss of a loved one. Our grief and bereavement specialists are here to offer you a safe place to talk while providing you with resources to gain
the support you need.

No matter your financial situation, we can help. Bereavement services are available to all
community members in our service area at no charge. This program exists because of
generous donors who support the Augusta Health Foundation. All bereavement services
are provided by grief and bereavement care specialists from Hospice of the Shenandoah.