Bereavement Professional

  • 1.  When Do You Close a Bereavement Care Plan?

    Posted 02-08-2018 05:34 PM

    We were recently told by Joint Commission that you can only close a Bereavement Care Plan if you directly speak with the bereaved and they decline services. 

    I would like to know if you can close a care plan for reasons below.

    1. Do you close a care plan if you have tried multiple times to make contact and the bereaved is not returning calls? 

    2. Do you close a care plan if bereaved only wants mailings and no further phone contact?

    3.  Do you close care plan if the phone number is not working and/or address is incorrect?

    Thank you,



    ------------------------------
    Malena Pena

    Director of Volunteer and Bereavement Services
    Silverado Hospice
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  • 2.  RE: When Do You Close a Bereavement Care Plan?

    Posted 02-08-2018 05:46 PM

    Hello Malena,

     

    In our program we:

     

    1. Only close a Bereavement Care Plan if you directly speak with the bereaved and they decline services. – Yes, this is our practice; as well as at 13 mo if we have completed the mailings, calls and have no other planned outreach or counseling still pending.

     

    1. Do you close a care plan if you have tried multiple times to make contact and the bereaved is not returning calls? – No, we do not. We try to reach the bereaved by phone twice. If we do not reach them or hear back, we send a handwritten note explaining the purpose of our outreach, and that we will remain available to them for the next 13 months and invite them to call us at any time for support.  The care plan remains open both so we can continue to resolve those mailing interventions, according to the frequency we send mailings, as well as to demonstrate that we are remaining available should the grief experience and needs of the bereaved change over the course of the 13 months after death. Often, the experience and needs do change, which is normal, and natural supports tend to diminish.  It is not uncommon that bereaved respond to mailings or a follow up call many months after a death.

     

    1. Do you close a care plan if bereaved only wants mailings and no further phone contact? – No, for the same reason above. This leaves the door open.  We resolve the care plan at 14 months.

     

    1. Do you close care plan if the phone number is not working and/or address is incorrect? - If both the phone number and address are incorrect, we indicate that in the plan of care AND state, that we will remain available should they reach out to us within 13 months of the death.  Bereaved recall which hospice it was that served their family, and may indeed reach out for support later on.  To us this seems the most fitting standard for the format and structure of what hospice bereavement programs are, a resource that both reaches out to, as well receives and responds to the dynamic and individualized requests and needs of our bereaved population.

     

    Hope this is helpful to you!  It will be interesting to hear what other organizations reply as well.  Thank you for posing this question!

     

    Joelle Osterhaus, MSW, LCSW, LICSW, ACHP-SW
    Hospice & Palliative Care Psychosocial Services Supervisor

    Kaiser Permanente
    Continuing Care Services
    2701 NW Vaughn St., Ste. 140
    Portland, OR 97210-5344
    Hospice Reception: (503) 499-5200

    Cell Phone: (503) 312-0819
    Fax: (503) 499-5535

    1__=<a href=07BB0AF4DFEF22D48f9e8a93df@domino.kp.org">

    kp.org/thrive


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  • 3.  RE: When Do You Close a Bereavement Care Plan?

    Posted 02-09-2018 11:13 AM
    Similar to Joelle we never close a care plan, knowing that it is not uncommon for people to reach out to us later - we have a level of service titled "No current services" that we put them at. If they are just getting mailings then that too is considered a service so THAT is their level of service for that point in time. We serve our clients for 16 months (because most people are not in a good place coming up to the time of the one year anniversary) and if at the 16 month mark they are still attending group then their level of service becomes an Extended Level of Service for another year. The same holds if they have requested that they receive the newsletter for another year. These are all ways we tailor their care program to reflect what they are needing, which of course changes over time.

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    Patti Anewalt, Director
    Pathways Center for Grief & Loss
    Hospice & Community Care
    Mount Joy, PA
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: When Do You Close a Bereavement Care Plan?

    Posted 02-09-2018 10:14 AM

    No to closing Bereavement POC on each of these.

    We only close the account when Family request account to be closed prior to end of bereavement POC ( 13 months)

    We can stop Phone calls, and still send mail.

    We can stop mail and still call families.

    When we do close accounts prior to end of bereavement  POC, we provide community referral list if  bereaved accepts this information.

     

     

    Barbara Ingram M.Div.  D. Min.  BCC, LMFT

    Bereavement Coordinator and Counselor

    WellStar Community Hospice

    470.245.9959 Office

    470.245.9991 Fax

     




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  • 5.  RE: When Do You Close a Bereavement Care Plan?

    Posted 02-09-2018 11:41 AM
    Basically the same as all the above:

    1. Do you close a care plan if you have tried multiple times to make contact and the bereaved is not returning calls? No, we call at a set time frame depending upon the "risk" level. After the Initial attempt we often use volunteers to make calls, for low and moderate levels, where they are most often only leaving messages (if someone is high risk we keep trying - if unable to contact we will reach out to other family to assess the situation). 

    2. Do you close a care plan if bereaved only wants mailings and no further phone contact? 
    No, the mailings are part of our care plan. If they request no further callings we have an intervention that stated "Bereaved prefers to call hospice" and this remains open for the 13 months.

    3.  Do you close care plan if the phone number is not working and/or address is incorrect?
    No, if the phone number is wrong and after an attempt to find the correct or alternate number we send a card stating that we are attempting to reach them and if they would like Bereavement Service to please call with updated information. If the mailing address is wrong and we are unable to get a correct one we will indicated this on the care plan and it remains open for the whole 13 months. 

    The only time we close a plan early is if there is only one bereaved and they too die - it happens once or twice a year.  Even if the decline we hold the POC open for the 13 months, at times they need us later or experience another life altering event and we are the ones they reach out to for support. 

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    Jolene Currie
    Director of Bereavement
    Niagara Hospice
    Lockport, NY 14094
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: When Do You Close a Bereavement Care Plan?

    Posted 02-09-2018 01:35 PM
    ​We generally only close the BV chart prior to the end of 13 months by request of the family for no further contact because they are moving out of area.  Otherwise, if they no longer want calls or letters we stop those but don't close the chart because we have too many instances where ....down the road they end up calling and requesting one on one counseling or group counseling.  We do make final contact with them when we are closing the chart.

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    Susan Bruno, LCSW
    Director Social Work Practice
    Suncoast Hospice
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: When Do You Close a Bereavement Care Plan?

    Posted 02-09-2018 05:12 PM
    Thank you this has been so informative!

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    Malena Pena

    Director of Volunteer and Bereavement Services
    Silverado Hospice
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    Original Message


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