Most of the below services are available to any bereaved individual. Those marked with an * are available to our colleague OPOs and Tissue Banks for their donor families for a nominal fee. If your organization is interested in participating in any of these programs, please contact Debbie Hutt at 757-609-4685 or deborah_hutt@lifenethealth.org
Thanks2You Program
Lifenet Health understands how meaningful it can be for a donor family to receive correspondence from a recipient of their loved one’s gift. This is why we developed the Thanks2You program. With each tissue graft distributed by LifeNet Health, a card is included that provides information to the recipient about how they can submit an anonymous Thank You note to their donor’s family. These letters of gratitude can be submitted either electronically through the http://www.thanks2you.org/ website, or through the regular mail. Our staff will work with the tissue recovery partner’s donor family support staff who will deliver the correspondence. There is also a button for organ recipients to write to their donor’s family.
Website Access
LifeNet Health maintains a website specifically designed for bereaved families and individuals. At http://www.healingthespirit.org/ you will find detailed information regarding the many services available to bereaved families as well as resources to help them in their personal grief journey.
Included on the site are:
- A quarterly newsletter with helpful articles and information; and,
- E-mail access to a grief therapist who will answer questions on various grief topics — Healing Tears.
- And much more
We encourage you to create a link from your organization’s web site to http://www.healingthespirit.org/. If you would like to create an electronic “bridge” introducing your donor families to this bereavement support website, our technicians would be pleased to work with you.
LifeNet Health’s Grief Companion® Program *
The Grief Companion Program is a special service provided for donor family members who would like to communicate with someone who has first-hand experience grieving as a donor family. A Grief Companion is a donor family member who is a least 18 months into her/his own grief journey and has been trained to assist the newly bereaved. This unique program expands available grief support services while helping both parties of the companioning relationship to reconcile the losses in their lives.
This comprehensive training curriculum includes a well-documented on-line training component that provides easy access for donor families across the country. This training culminates in a one-day seminar that could take place in your area.
Grief and Loss Support Workshop for Caregivers *
LifeNet Health Donor Family Services staff understands the unique responsibilities of providing bereavement support for donor families. This rewarding work can be demanding and special care must be taken to help assure the continued well being of your staff.
Our Grief and Loss Support for Caregivers workshop will provide a basic overview for understanding grief and loss and the emotional, spiritual and physical toll on the bereaved. Additionally, our skilled bereavement specialist will review the importance of self care while one provides these important services to donor families.