Sound Shore Medical Center in New Rochelle has been given materials to hand to parents grieving from having lost a child in pregnancy or soon after, including pamphlets with names like “Still to be Born” and “Empty Arms.”
They are “perinatal bereavement materials,” given to the medical center by the Lindsay Jane Eleck Fund, Here is the press release:
New Rochelle, NY – October 5, 2012 – Sound Shore Medical Center (SSMC) is pleased to announce its status as the first facility in the region to benefit from the generosity of the Lindsay Jane Eleck Fund’s Perinatal Bereavement Materials. These resources are provided free to aid families, who have experienced a loss either during pregnancy, at birth or shortly after birth, with the difficult healing process. Upon discharge the resource materials are given to the family as an expression of understanding and support.
Having participated in Circle of Hope Perinatal Bereavement Support Group offered by Hospice Care in Westchester & Putnam that is part of the VNA of Hudson Valley Family, the Eleck Family wanted to help other families. With the establishment of the Lindsay Jane Eleck Fund, Brooks Eleck and her mother, Jane Ghazarossian, directed their grief toward caring and concern for others experiencing perinatal loss. Working closely with Hospice Care/VNA, they helped chart the course for the resources designed to assist families in coping with the unexpected, devastating loss and the associated grief. The foundation of these efforts is a library of reference materials.
While grief counseling begins in the hospital or emergency room setting, families will now receive these materials upon discharge. Titles include: Empty Arms, This Little While, When Hello Means Goodbye and A Grandmother’s Sorrow, among others. These resources provide reassurance that grief is a process – not an event.
For more information on Perinatal Bereavement support at Sound Shore Medical Center, please contact Barbara Rohonczy at 914.365.3754. For additional information on the Circle of Hope and the Eleck Fund Materials, call the VNA of Hudson Valley at 914.666.4228.
For physician referrals, call MDs-LINE (914.637.5463) or visit us on the web at www.ssmc.org to discover our Care. For Life.
