National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, November 2011

By proclaiming November 2011 as National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization encourages every American to increase our understanding and awareness of care at the end of life and to observe this month with appropriate activities and programs.

Most of us have heard about hospice care.  We know that hospices care for people at the end of life. Many of us know a family or friend who was helped by hospice when faced with the serious illness and death of a loved one.  But there is so much more to know.

For example, did you know that hospice provides what the majority of Americans say they want at the end of life ~ excellent pain management, comfort, and support for the patient and family caregivers?

Here are ten more things you should know about hospice:

Caregiving and Hospice, October 23 - October 29, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Denise Brown on generating a national data base for caregiving, http://j.mp/w4Bj1D via @caregiving

• Why Choose A Hospice Care Program? http://bit.ly/txe9ih via @SanDiegoHospice and @SolariHospice

• Jesse Hinton's Testimonial for Hospice and Palliative Care Center, http://ow.ly/7cnEg via @HospiceCareCntr

• Support of the Fur Family in Caregiving, http://lnkd.in/bsyySu via @RealmQuests

• Promise and pitfalls of palliative care, http://lat.ms/mUeprR

Understanding and Managing Grief, October 23 - October 29, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Lovely! We only think we have forever http://scr.bi/rNKToT by @likes2writealot

• Losing a Child: Connecting Now and Forever, http://j.mp/synhUo

• How Not To Respond To News Of A Divorce, http://j.mp/tpn2mE by @huffingtonpost  via @StoryForHealing 

• To Tell or Not to Tell…That You’re Dying, http://bit.ly/sjw0bi by @friendgrief

• Finding a sacred space for grief allows connection, http://bit.ly/v12sli

Coping with Pet Loss, October 23 - October 29, 2011

Best selection from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Veterinary students learn to comfort bereaved clients, bit.ly/tPcV3B by @WSUvetmed

• Mourning the loss of Bella the Dog, dear companion to elephant Tarra, http://j.mp/s2sq4n 

• Wonderful! "Dogs in Heaven," http://bit.ly/ujKK8m by @douggosling

Voices of Experience: The Pie Dish

It is the miracle of memory that transforms a houseful of stuff into a heritage of love and connection. ~ Emily Barnes, in Timeless Treasures: The Charm and Romance of Treasured Memories

Of her beloved grandmother who died earlier this year, the author of this lovely piece* writes, "My Grandma raised me, so she was more like my mom. She was my best friend ~ my biggest supporter ~ the only person I have ever felt would love me no matter what."

It is amazing how small things can take you back to the one you love. The way the sun streams in the window, a smell, a sound . . . little things.

Caregiving and Hospice, October 16 - October 22, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Keeping a Wheelchair-bound Loved One Comfortable http://ow.ly/75yP4 MT @CaregiverTweets

• Benefits of palliative care for seriously ill, http://ow.ly/72zwH via @ContinuumHCH @GetPalliative

• Personal stories about people's experience with hospice, http://ow.ly/73Xnq MT @HouHospice

• Jane Gross on the Failings of Medicare - Excellent review, http://ow.ly/74Olk by @geri_doc on @geripalblog 

• Caregiving Dilemma: The Undeserving Parent, nyti.ms/mQrtuO by @nytimeshealth via @emilybarryPR

Understanding and Managing Grief, October 16 - October 22, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Book, Alone - For All Those Who Grieve by W. F. (Bill) Cento - Beautiful, touching, uplifting  via @amazon

• Book to help young children understand death and grief: Tess's Tree, via @forthoodhousing

• Is Depression a chronic disease? http://j.mp/q3cFBH

• When friends aren't notified of a death, http://bit.ly/ooMyqw by @friendgrief

• Practical, helpful suggestions for Healing After Trauma: Open to Hope interview with Ed Tick, http://j.mp/p5Z8aI

Coping with Pet Loss, October 16 - October 22, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Online Studies Program Offers Expert Help in Dealing with Pet Loss, http://ow.ly/732Nq via @VillageMemorial

• Veterinarians: Fluent in Dealing with Death - Vetstreet, http://j.mp/qexSna

• Finding Support for Pet Loss, http://j.mp/olji4Y

• In Caregiving and Grief: Beware of Military and Sports Metaphors, http://fb.me/CYzZx008 by @BeezerAndBoomer

Finding Support for Pet Loss

[Reviewed and updated October 29, 2025]

If you are mourning the loss of a cherished pet, you may have some of the same questions and share some of the same concerns I often hear from other bereaved animal lovers:

How do I know when it is time to actually get some counseling for grief from loss of a pet?  Sometimes we wish that others would just be there for us without our having to ask. Unfortunately, when it comes to loss of a beloved animal companion, that’s not likely to happen. It’s not so much that others are cold and uncaring. If they’re not animal lovers and they’ve never had pets, or if they’ve never allowed themselves to become attached to animals as companions, there simply is no way for them to fully understand the attachment we had to the one who died, the significance of our loss and the depth of our pain.  They may unintentionally minimize our loss or, not wanting to see us hurt, discourage us from expressing our grief.  Sometimes the insensitivity of others can be even more painful for us than grief from the actual loss.

Caregiving and Hospice, October 9 - October 15, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Nutrition As We Age, ow.ly/6WzVA by @CaringPeopleInc

• Heartwarming! Pets as Caregivers, http://ow.ly/6Xisn via @susanavello

• Beautifully stated observations on end of life care, http://bit.ly/nIkcvK via @StoryForHealing

• The Double Effect of Aid in Dying, http://huff.to/nmxIAU via @EOLnavigator via @huffingtonpost

• Clearest overview of Medicare hospice payment, http://1.usa.gov/r10sty via @ContinuumHCH and @donaldhtaylorjr