Newly Enhanced Bereavement Program Focuses on the Whole Family

The CNS Bereavement Program was developed out of a need to support grieving families, as well as those who are dying and grieving the end of their own lives. It was also developed to provide enhanced training and education for our clinical staff who support our patients and their families through their grief journeys.

While Medicare requires hospice organizations to provide a minimum of 13 months bereavement support, they do stipulate how that support should look and they also do not provide insurance reimbursement for any bereavement activities. That results in many organizations simply sending a flyer on dealing with grief to families instead of providing true bereavement support.

We wanted to do better for our patients and their families, as well as our clinical staff. However, with very small profit margins, we did not have the funding to hire a bereavement specialist whose salary wasn’t offset by insurance billing. So, we turned to our donors.

Several important donors answered our request for help and invested in our enhanced Bereavement Program. They include:

• Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation

• Deveraux Family Foundation

• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Foundation

• Tina and Daniel Zvonek

We are very grateful for their support. With their help, we will now be able to significantly increase our grief support in 2024.

Our newly enhanced Bereavement Program takes a “Whole Family Approach” to grief. We will provide

• Grief training and coaching. We will provide comprehensive grief training and coaching for our dedicated team of social workers and chaplains. This training will empower our staff to better understand, empathize with, and support families facing loss.

• Grief support groups/meetings. We will establish and maintain grief support groups and meetings throughout Utah. These gatherings will serve as a valuable resource for individuals and families struggling with the complex emotions of grief.

• One-on-one grief support. Clinicians will identify patients and families who are in need of additional support during their bereavement journey, allowing our grief experts to connect with them and provide 1:1 grief support, as needed.

“This new enhanced program will allow me to go heart to heart with grieving families,” says Roy Olson, Chaplain and CNS Bereavement Manager. “I want to be able to provide the best possible support to individuals and families in need and transform their grief journey. As we move forward through our grief, we learn that there is no ending point to grief and loss; we just learn to adapt to a new way of life without our loved ones. Whoever you have lost in your life will always be there in your heart. The sadness might fade to the background, but it comes back from time to time as we think about our loved ones. It never really goes away. Our Bereavement Program will help support people through this journey.”

Jeff Carter’s Experience with the Bereavement Program: “We needed a captain for our ship.”

“Words can’t express how I feel about the care and support I have received from CNS and Chaplain Roy Olson these past months. The care and support my family has received from CNS is truly full-circle, from the onset of hospice nursing to grief processing and emotional support. Roy was with us the day Tracey died. We needed time and space to process, and his presence was so comforting.

“Roy was also there to help with the funeral arrangements and even performed Tracey’s funeral service for us. Families want a variety of services for their loved ones—from religious to casual—and he took our input and put a program together that was special and heartfelt We needed a captain for our ship during that time, and he was our captain. I am so glad CNS is taking Roy’s knowledge and experience and using it to create a model for bereavement support for each of their nine branches.” 

To help us continue the Bereavement Program into the future, consider making a gift today.