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Managed-Care and other forces are expanding the prehospital scope of practice to increasingly include the determination of death and non-transport of deceased patients. We must be proactive to address the practical, emotional and ethical consequences of this new reality in EMS. Grief Support in the Field is sensitive and skillful scene management following the death of a patient when there are family members, friends or by-standers present. Grief Support includes death notification, treatment of acute emotional response, body management, referrals, providing informational materials, hand-offs, leaving the scene and provider stress. Following the death of a patient, it is appropriate for designated "911" professionals to shift their focus from the deceased patient to the on-site next of kin or other impacted by-standers. When death is determined at a scene, the on-site next of kin (the bereaved) become the customer and potential patient. At the onset of acute grief, sensitive care to survivors can positively impact their grieving process with immediate and long-term benefits. This occurs when skillful support is offered at the scene and later when the bereaved consult the materials left behind by the emergency professional. By-standers and family routinely remember, for extended periods of time, sensitive and insensitive interactions with emergency, law enforcement and firefighter personnel. Learning how to consistently "Say the Right Thing" during these difficult calls helps transform this potential public relations nightmare into a community relations asset. |
Grief STEP™ Programs
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Grief Support Training, Evaluation & Policy (STEP™) Programs have established a standard of prehospital care and training for EMS, Fire and Law Enforcement professionals concerned with skillfully responding to the needs of the bereaved at the scene following the death of their loved one. The following grief support training programs and materials can be designed to accommodate the specific policies, procedures, and concerns of any EMS, Fire or Law Enforcement organization. |
Grief Support Training: Death In The Field Guidelines & Death Notification
| Grief Support Training: Death in The Field Guidelines and Death Notification classes: One day basic Course and Two day Train-the-Trainers Course. First day provides basic instruction, the second day provides additional information and materials to enable student to teach subject to peers. |
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Grief Support and Death in the Field Training is concerned with professional scene management following the death of a patient when there are survivors (family members/friends) present. We established the Standard of Care for on-scene bereaved in 1992 and have been training emergency and hospital professionals since that time. This training includes basic scene management: death notification, response to acute physiological and emotional reactions of the survivors, sensitivity to ethnic, cultural and religious differences, legalities of body management, provision of informational handouts, knowing when to leave the scene and stress on emergency personnel. TTT participants will receive the templates for Grief support, funeral and coroner information brochures/handouts to print with their own logo and local referral information. |
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For more information, or to register for the course, call Mary Reigel, MFT at 916.366.8026 |
Materials, and Services |
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Standard of Care Program - Includes one day training for 911 team members, evaluations, policy implementation, telephone support, manuals, guides, public informational booklets & brochures. |
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Train the Trainers Package - Includes two day training for your EMS agency Trainers, certification and licensing, Training Manuals, Student Manuals, training materials, and telephone support. |
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In -service and Follow-up Training - One to four hour training sessions focused on a specific issue of interest such as DIBS, DNR policies, suicide or other topics. |
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Public Information - Grief support booklets, Medical Examiner/Coroner brochures, Mortuary brochures; also available bi-lingual English/Spanish, Spanish, and other languages on request. |
C.I.S.M. Workshop in Southern California
Date To Be Announced
Critical Incident Stress Management Workshop: Rare opportunity to be trained as mental health debriefers with peer debriefers in the Mitchell model. Receive a certificate from the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. 15 CEU credits for LCSW and LMFT. Fee: $340 This course provides an overview of Critical Incident Stress Management (C.I.S.M.) interventions with the community and emergency service workers following distressing events. C.I.S.M. is an integrated, comprehensive, multi-component, and organized approach for the reduction and control of the harmful aspects of stress in emergency service workers and community members. C.I.S.M. has been used successfully with children, workers, citizens, victims of crime, persons impacted by disasters, and other groups who experience distressing incidents. Critical Incident Stress Debriefing is one of the group interventions covered in this training, along with pre-incident education, on-scene support, demobilization debriefings, and defusings. Curriculum is approved by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. For more information, or to register for the workshop, call Mary Reigel, MFT at 916.366.8026
e-mail: mary@griefsupport.org
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For information on programs and materials call Mary at: 916.366.8026 Fax: 916.363.3327 or e-mail: mary@griefsupport.org |
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