Children's Support Services

Comfort and Supportive Care for Seriously Ill Children and Their Families

Hospice of the Piedmont is dedicated to serving our community with hospice care and supportive services related to serious illness and loss with the highest level of skill, compassion, and respect.

The mission of the Children’s Support Program is to provide psychosocial and spiritual support for seriously ill and grieving children, teens, and their families. This program includes elements of the Journeys art therapy program, social worker services, and spiritual care services, and is available without charge to anyone who needs it.

Hospice of the Piedmont Assumptions:

• The family and child are considered the “unit of service.”
• We partner with the child’s family, physician, and community care team to provide supportive, non-medical services.
• With the family, we assess which services the family/child want, and which are most appropriate and useful.

Defining Support Services:

• The Social Worker:
  • Conducts the initial intake and identification of services, service plan and timeline
  • Identifies community resources
  • Identifies financial resources
  • Provides psycho-social (counseling) support to the family members and patient as needed
  • Identifies and supports anticipatory grieving and makes referrals to the bereavement program for children/teens, family members, and community members (classmates, etc.) in need of support

• The Chaplain:
  • Provides spiritual counseling and support to the family members and patient as requested
  • Makes plans/arrangements for funeral if needed
  • Connects the family with religious/pastoral support from church of their choice

• The Journeys Art Therapist:
  • Uses expressive/art therapy for the patient, as appropriate
  • Uses expressive/art therapy for family members, especially children/siblings
  • Uses expressive/art therapy to create memories for the family
  • Offers services to area schools for children/teens facing serious illness or death in the school

• Bereavement Care:
  • Provides ongoing bereavement services to the family
  • Access to individual and family bereavement counseling services
  • Support for all family members will be made available through support groups, mailings, and phone contacts