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Bereavement Support


Hospice & Home Care of Juneau (HHCJ) provides education and support to people experiencing grief.  Bereavement services are available free of charge to Hospice clients for 13 months after the death of a loved one.  Services to those who have not been involved with Hospice are available if resources permit.

Bereavement services include the following:

  1. Within two weeks of the death of a Hospice client, a HHCJ staff member telephones the family to provide grief support.  Family members are informed of available bereavement services and given a phone number to contact for more information.

  2. Within one month of a death, family members are offered a home visit by a HHCJ staff to provide grief support.

  3. Whenever possible, the RN case manager or her designee attends the memorial or funeral service of a patient who has died.

  4. An annual Remembrance Gathering is held around the time of the winter holidays, and family members and caregivers of patients who have died are invited to attend.

  5.  A minimum of two eight-week long grief education and support groups are held each year. 

  6. All bereavement clients are contacted by mail on a regular basis during the 13 months following the death of a loved one.  The HHCJ Volunteer Coordinator coordinates the mailing of educational and supportive material to each client.

  7. Bereavement clients are offered ongoing contact with a trained volunteer who is available to listen, facilitate the expression of grief, and offer emotional support.  When appropriate, the Hospice Social Worker and Volunteer Coordinator will work together to match bereavement clients with appropriate volunteer grief counselors.

  8. The Hospice Social Worker, Chaplin, and Volunteer Coordinator also make referrals to professional counselors, as appropriate.

  9. At about the time of the first anniversary of the death of a loved one, a volunteer will deliver a rose and a note to the bereavement client.

  10.  Workshops on subjects related to death and dying are offered to the general public at least once a year.

  11. A lending library of books and articles on grief and loss is available to the public at the HHCJ office.