To meet the emotional needs of our  hospice patients, we provide a Support Services Team that address the following:  

Bereavement:

Grief is more than sadness.  It may feel overwhelming and consuming. However, grieving is a healthy and natural reaction to death, and all of us go through it at one time or another. It is a necessary part of life. 

You may feel sad, angry, panicked, or helpless when a family member is terminally ill. These, plus many other strong feelings, are normal.  But grieving can lead to depression and ineffective coping.  A Better Way Home provides bereavement support services and counseling to all family members for up to 13 months following the death of the hospice patient. This includes children as well as parents, spouses as well as siblings. Our social workers help patients and families develop coping skills and ease anxiety over how an illness will progress. We can also help with difficult conversations that patients and families may want to have, but don't know how to start.  We can ease burdens by helping with practical matters, such as arranging funeral or memorial services.  We will evaluate the family to determine who may have a greater need for bereavement counseling. This counseling may be in the family's home, at our office, or at another meeting place in the case of bereavement support groups; the important thing to remember is that the hospice benefit includes support even after the time of your loved one's death, so this service is provided at no cost to you.

A Better Way Home will contact you and arrange for the bereavement services you need. This is part of why hospice is considered holistic; it includes the needs of the whole person, the whole family unit, and considers your needs on psychological and emotional levels, as well as the spiritual level.

If you would like to talk with someone about thoughts, worries or concerns you may be experiencing, we are available to help. If you are feeling a need for support, please communicate this with the hospice social worker, chaplain or RN/Case Manager. They can arrange for the support you need to help you get through this difficult time. If you notice that another family member appears to be having trouble coping, you should also contact your hospice representative to arrange for support for them. Sometimes, people, especially children, are unable to express their feelings and needs openly, perhaps because they don't know how to put those feelings into words. With children, grades in school may be affected or behavioral problems may crop up. Hospice is there to help you before, during and after the time of death, to assist you through this difficult time.


Call A Better Way Home, a Boise Idaho Hospice organization at (208) 322-HOME (4663) if we can help in any way.