"Gratitude Central" Children's Hospice: How to Help Grieving Families Through the Holidays

(Click PLAY arrow) Children’s Hospice. The two words just don't sound right together, do they? Host Nora Firestone had first heard of Children's Hospice only a few years back, when a mural artist and dear friend asked her to volunteer to give Edmarc Hospice for Children, in Portsmouth, Va., an interior “face lift.” They’d hoped also to be giving a “spirit lift,” but realized that there’s only so much a team can do with a few cans of paint and the best of intentions. In fact many of us can count our “lucky stars” for never needing to know that such a service exists. But it does. And it does wonders to assist families and their children facing end-of-life issues so prematurely. In fact, last year, almost 1.5 million patients from across the nation received hospice care, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, said a recent article in the Northwest Herald. If you know of a family who’s child is in Hospice care, or if you’d simply like to learn more, listen to our radio show at 8 a.m. ET Sunday, November 15. Guests Debbie Stitzer-Brame, executive director at Edmarc; Anne Chisman, Bereavement program director; and Wendy Mezzenga, the gracious mother of an Edmarc child, will discuss the significance of Hospice for children and how we can best reach out to grieving families and offer the help they need at a most difficult time in their lives. “Grief through the holidays is like a tidal wave,” notes Stitzer-Brame. What better time for us all to learn how we can make a difference in the lives of the families facing the recent or pending loss of a beloved child?