What should I do now? How do I tell my friends? Who else do I need to call. And you’ll probably experience many of these thoughts while you’re still grieving.

The staff at Salem Hospital want to help. Thanks to a generous grant of  $24,000 from the Salem Hospital Foundation, those who have lost a loved one now have easier access to resources that may help them.

“We are so pleased the Foundation was willing to fund this important initiative to serve families in our community who have lost loved ones,” said Marty Enriquez, RN, Salem Health’s Chief Nursing Officer. “It is always difficult to deal with a death of a loved one, especially when you get home and it all sinks in; people often don’t know what to do next.”

A packet with information on grieving is available free to hospital patients and their families. Included in the materials are brochures covering topics such as:

• What’s Next – Things You Need to Do.
• The Ten Best and Worst Things to Say to Someone in Grief.
• What About the Kids?

“The intent is to give families the packets at the time of death of their loved one, and once the families are home, they can review the materials and use whatever information is most helpful to them,” said Marty.

Also included is a list of grief support group groups, as well as resources available in the hospital’s Community Health Education Center (CHEC), located on the first floor of building D on the hospital campus.

“There is also practical information included such as suggestions on what people need to do to make arrangements for burial and services, as well as other details, but more importantly, what resources are available in our community to help people make those kinds of decisions,” said Marty.

For more information about projects funded by the Salem Hospital Foundation, contact the Foundation office at 503-561-5576.