The University of Iowa Children's Hospital Grief Services program supports pediatric patients and families experiencing grief and loss. This may occur because of a diagnosis or hospitalization, when end of life is imminent, or after a death has occurred.

Each person experiences their own unique journey of grief, and we are here to offer support, empathy, and hope, even in your darkest hours. Along with other health care professionals who provide end of life care (social work, spiritual services, child life), we offer a comprehensive program to support your child and family. Some of the services offered through Grief Services include:

• Support when grief and loss arise due to a child's diagnosis or hospitalization
• Support when experiencing anticipatory grief
• Cherished Portraits, a volunteer photography service that provides photo shoots for children with life threatening illnesses, facing end of life, or who have died.
• Support for patients and their families during the dying process
• Provision of grief resources and mementos

At UI Children's Hospital, we acknowledge the importance of maintaining a relationship with grieving families even after the death of their children; we believe in offering reassurance that their children's lives mattered, and that they have not been forgotten. Bereavement services offered include:

• Acknowledgement of death through condolence cards and other mailings
• Publication of the quarterly Grief Services Newsletter
• Grief Support Retreats offered twice a year, providing the opportunity for parents and siblings of children who have died to connect with other families so they may realize they are not alone in their grief.
• A yearly UI Children's Hospital Service of Remembrance, held every July to honor the lives of beloved children, gone too soon.

For more information about UI Children's Hospital Grief Services, please contact:

Sheila Frascht, RN, BSN, CT
Coordinator, Grief Services
(319) 356-7411
sheila-frascht@uiowa.edu

Grief Services

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Pediatric Palliative Care