For families · After the death
Grief is not a problem to fix.
When someone you love dies, the world reorganizes itself around their absence. There is no schedule for that. There is no right way to do it. What hospice offers — at no cost, for a full thirteen months — is steady company while you find your footing.
·What's included
Bereavement services are part of the Medicare hospice benefit and are offered to family members and primary caregivers for thirteen months after the patient's death. There is no charge. You do not need to have been the legal next of kin.
- A bereavement counselor who calls in the first weeks, then on a schedule you choose.
- Mailings — short, gentle, written by people who do this work — at one month, three months, six months, the anniversary, and around the holidays.
- Support groups — in-person and virtual. Spousal loss, loss of a parent, loss of a child, sudden loss, traumatic loss.
- Individual counseling for as long as you need it, with referrals to longer-term therapy if helpful.
- Memorial services twice a year that you are warmly welcome to attend.
·What grief can look like
In the body
- Exhaustion that sleep doesn't fix.
- Tightness in the chest, shortness of breath.
- Trouble eating, or eating too much.
- Catching colds; old aches reappearing.
- Forgetfulness, fog, lost keys.
In the heart and mind
- Waves — calm, then crashing, with no warning.
- Hearing their voice. Reaching for the phone.
- Anger at small things, or at no thing.
- Guilt about what was or wasn't said.
- Moments of relief, and then guilt about the relief.
All of this is grief doing its work. None of it means you are doing it wrong.