Hospice of Michigan to Host National Teleconference on Helping Adolescents Cope with Loss

Presented by Hospice Foundation of America’s Annual Living With Grief Program

Detroit, February 26, 2014 – Hospice of Michigan will host a video webcasts of “Helping Adolescents Cope with Loss” for health professionals in Michigan.

Presented by the Hospice Foundation of America, or HFA, this annual Living With Grief Program provides distance-learning opportunities to healthcare and hospice workers, educators, social workers, counselors, clergy, funeral directors and other professionals who assist adolescents coping with grief.

The teleconference, which will feature a panel discussion led by Frank Sesno, director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University, will be offered on the following dates:

  • April 10, 2-5 m., Hospice of Michigan’s Big Rapids office at 400 Perry Street.
  • April 10, 2-5 m., Hospice of Michigan’s Brush Park office at 400 Mack Ave. in Detroit.
  • June 6, 8:30-11:30 m., Hospice of Michigan’s Ada office at 989 Spaulding SE.

Each event will begin with a streaming of the webcast, followed by a local panel discussion during the last half hour of the event.

The program is designed to help professionals:

  • Identify the three developmental issues encountered in adolescence
  • Indicate the ways death, grief and loss of a loved one can complicate adolescent development
  • Understand the ways that the developmental issues of adolescence can both complicate and facilitate the ability of the adolescent to cope with life-threatening illness
  • Identify issues that should be addressed in providing care for adolescents as well as their peers and siblings in coping with life-threatening illness
  • Discuss the ways that adolescents experience grief and cope with loss
  • Offer strategies schools and other professionals may help adolescents cope with loss
  • Describe the ways that sudden and traumatic deaths complicate the grieving process
  • Provide strategies and processes for schools and other organizations to respond to a tragedy or traumatic loss such as an accident, suicide or violent event
  • Discuss the value and approaches of intervention strategies with grieving adolescents, such as peer support groups, bibliotherapy, individual counseling and expressive therapies

The information provided by the expert panel will be useful to nurses, social workers, counselors, nursing home administrators, case managers, funeral directors, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, caregivers, and those working in palliative and hospice care, long-term care, or home care at all levels of professions – entry level, intermediate or advanced. This program provides an opportunity to share and exchange ideas and obtain continuing education, or CE, credits.

This program is valid for three hours of CE credit. Cost is $25 per person.

To register or for more information, contact HOM’s grief support department at 888-247-5701.

Each year the HFA presents its nationally recognized distance-learning program to more than 125,000 people in 2,000 communities. For more than a decade, HFA’s educational events have been instrumental in educating healthcare professionals and families on issues affecting end-of- life care.

About Hospice of Michigan
A nationally recognized leader in end-of-life care, Hospice of Michigan is the original – and largest – hospice in the state. The non-profit cares for more than 1,400 patients each day in 56 counties across Michigan, raising more than $4 million each year to cover the cost of care for the uninsured and underinsured. HOM offers a broad range of services to enhance the quality of life at the end of life, including At Home Support™, our advanced illness management program, community-based palliative care and pediatric care programs. HOM provides grief support and counseling, caregiver education and support, and education programs for physicians and healthcare professionals through its research, training and education arm, the Hospice of Michigan Institute. For more information, call 888.247.5701 or visit www.hom.org.