2/16/2010

Heartworks, a new Children’s Bereavement Program provided as a community service by Susquehanna Health Home Care & Hospice, was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from The Blue Ribbon Foundation of Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The Heartworks program was initiated by Hospice Medical Director Alexander R. Nesbitt, MD in response to a documented need in this area for a program to help children experiencing the loss of a loved one. After several months of research and staff training, the program was implemented in the spring of 2009.

Heartworks provides a safe and nurturing environment in which children who have experienced a loss can express their feelings and find healing. Sessions are currently offered to children ages 6 to 11, but future plans include sessions for preschoolers and teenagers. Plans also include partnering with community organizations to offer peer support for children who have been separated from a parent due to divorce, foster care or imprisonment. The Heartworks Program uses art, music, play therapy and peer support to help children understand and work through their emotions.

Children’s Bereavement Coordinator Pam Wollet says, “Children’s bereavement is a new and growing field in which a great deal of research is being done on how grief impacts the lives of young people.” According to Wollet, “When children experience the death of someone close to them, the emotions can be so overwhelming that it becomes difficult for them to express their feelings. Spending time with other children who have experienced a loss allows a safe place for the expression of those feelings and helps normalize their experience as children realize there are others who feel the way they do.”

Wollet’s passion for her work is drawn from personal experience. As a six-year-old, she and her younger brother survived a serious car accident that claimed the lives of their parents and younger sister. “It was a life-changing experience,” says Wollet, “and it wasn’t until I became an adult that I was able to work through my grief and understand its impact on my life.” Wollet has dedicated herself to using her past experience to positively impact children in the future. “I often wonder if a support group had been available for me, how it would have changed my life,” she says.

The Blue Ribbon Foundation grant will help provide counseling and peer support to children as well as bereavement education to area health and social service professionals working with children. Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania established its private, non-profit Blue Ribbon Foundation in 2002 to invest in health education and prevention initiatives that produce measurable health improvements and help manage long term health costs for the residents of northeastern and north central Pennsylvania.

Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania, headquartered in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. It offers a comprehensive portfolio of health insurance products and administrative services to approximately 600,000 individuals in 13 counties in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania. The company’s mission is to provide innovative solutions that support more affordable healthcare, promote personal accountability for health and wellness, and offer superior service and partnership to employers, members, and providers.

Susquehanna Health is a three-hospital health system including Divine Providence Hospital, Muncy Valley Hospital and The Williamsport Regional Medical Center located in north central Pennsylvania. Serving patients from an 11-county region, Susquehanna Health is considered a healthcare leader and offers a broad array of services that include major centers for heart and vascular, neuroscience, cancer treatment, physical rehabilitation, orthopedics, urology and gastrointestinal services.

For more information about Susquehanna Health’s Heartworks Program, contact Pamela Wollett or Barbara Watts-Huebert at (570)320-7690.