Sunday, June 30, 2013

State of the Heart Hospice & Zechar Bailey Funeral Home to Offer Grief Support Meetings in Greenville

Losing a loved one can be one of life’s most difficult experiences. Often, those grieving need help dealing with their loss. State of the Heart Hospice is offering adult grief support meetings beginning Wednesday, July 17 and concluding Wednesday, August 21. The sessions are free and are open to anyone in the community.
This is the first time for the Greenville office of State of the Heart to “partner” with a local funeral home. The hospice bereavement team is partnering with Zechar Bailey Funeral home for the Growing Through Grief sessions. It is not necessary to be associated with hospice care and one need not have any association with the local funeral home. The meetings will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the State of the Heart office in Greenville, 1350 N. Broadway which is across the street from Zechar Bailey Funeral Home.

“Those who have attended our grief support meetings find them helpful,” said Marlene Black, hospice bereavement specialist who will conduct the meetings assisted by staff from Zechar Bailey. “Sometimes people are reluctant to attend, but once they begin coming to the meetings, they look forward to them. We find that those who attend are pleased that they made the effort to get to the first meeting.”

The benefit of the meetings, she added, “is that those attending find there are others experiencing grief just as they are. They find they are not alone in their grief, and they begin talking and sharing their feelings about loss. In many instances, friendships are formed.”


State of the Heart Hospice provides care to families and patients confronting a life limiting illness. The agency has offices in Greenville, Portland and Coldwater, and serves eastern Indiana and western Ohio. The nonprofit agency has previously partnered with funeral homes in Winchester and Portland Indiana.

“It is a natural partnership,” Black explained. “The funeral home staff is able to direct people needing help with their grief to the sessions. It is helpful to the funeral home staff to see how grief in the long run affects people. It is educational and enlightening.”

Phillip Pierri, manager of Zechar Bailey Funeral Home, added that “Zechar Bailey Funeral Home is proud to join State of the Heart Hospice for these Grief Support Meetings. Working hand and hand with State of the Heart Hospice on a daily basis gives us a much deeper understanding of what they do for our families during these difficult times. Being able to provide the necessary support to our families through these meetings is part of the complete services that we offer. We are privileged to serve many of the local families and our services now include grief support. A member of Zechar Bailey Funeral Home staff will be in attendance to answer any questions during the meetings.”

Bereavement support is an important part of the care provided by hospice and is offered to adults and children. There is no charge for any of the bereavement services provided by State of the Heart. To register for the upcoming grief support meetings, call Marlene Black at 1-800-417-7535. Visit the agency web site at www.StateoftheHeartCare.org

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