The Interdisciplinary Bereavement Team: Defining and Directing Appropriate Bereavement Care

SUMMARY

Hospice bereavement care often occurs in relative isolation from other program components; staff and volunteers are without the guidance, consultation and support provided through the interdisciplinary team that is enjoyed by personnel working in patient care areas. This article promotes a similar interdisciplinary team concept that has been successfully employed in one of the country’s largest bereavement programs. Comprised of bereavement program staff, consultants from the patient care program, professional and lay volunteers, this interdisciplinary team defines and directs interventions provided by the bereavement care program. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: [email protected]]

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Barbara L. Bouton

Barbara L. Bouton, MA, CVA, is Director of Bereavement Care for Hospice of Louisville, where she has worked for over twelve years as a bereavement administrator, volunteer administrator and children’s therapist. She is an associate of ACCORD, a national grief education academy, a member of the Interagency Disaster Response Committee in Louisville, Kentucky, a member of NHO’s Council of Hospice Professionals and a reviewer with NHO’s Educational Material Review Process.