Hospice Foundation of America Announces Webinar Series on Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Grief and Loss

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Hospice Foundation of America, a leader in end-of-life distance learning education, will present a series of webinars on helping children and adolescents cope with grief and loss. Hosted by nationally-known expert Kenneth Doka, Senior Bereavement Consultant to Hospice Foundation of America (HFA), the series will look at lessons learned from extensive research into the issue, emerging trends on the horizon, and how hospices and other health and community organizations can use bereavement camps and other strategies to help grieving children. The webinars will feature some of the best-known names in the field, as well as professionals who work with grieving children and adolescents every day.

HFA's live online webinar series includes:

• Bereavement Camps for Kids: Benefits and Challenges on Monday, February 1. Panelists will include: Sherry Schachter, Director of Calvary Hospital's annual bereavement camp in New York;  Angela Hamblen, Director of Camp Good Grief in Tennessee; Bonnie Carroll, Executive Director of TAPS, which offers support to those suffering the loss of a military loved one; and Lesa Linster, National Camp Erin Project Director at The Moyer Foundation.
• Bereaved Children and Adolescents: Lessons from Research on Wednesday, April 14. Panelists will include J. William Worden, Lead Researcher for the Harvard Child Bereavement Study and Irwin N. Sandler, Regent's Professor of Psychology, Arizona State University
• Grieving Children and Adolescents: The Role of Internet Support on Tuesday, June 15. Panelists will include Pamela Gabbay of the Mourning Star Center and National Alliance of Grieving Children and Cendra Lynn, founder of GriefNet and KidsAid.com.

(note: The live webinars will take place from 1pm — 2:30pm ET.)

Almost 875,000 children and adolescents have experienced the death of a parent, and over 1.8 million children are dealing with the loss of a sibling. These webinars will discuss research and interventions to help young people dealing with these losses, as well as the myriad of other losses they may experience.  "If you already offer programs for bereaved children, these webinars will reaffirm and review the most current information and best practices," states Dr. Doka. "If your organization is considering starting a camp or looking into other ways to expand children's services, this programming will be a great place to explore this new and viable approach to serving the bereaved youth of your community." The webinars and supporting materials will offer a toolbox of practical information.

HFA is grateful to the support of The Moyer Foundation for its sponsorship of this series. The Moyer Foundation offers encouragement, comfort and support to children in distress; the Foundation created and funds Camp Erin, the largest network of bereavement camps in the country for children and teens who are grieving a significant loss.

To register, go to:  http://store.hospicefoundation.org/product.php?productid=204&cat=29 The Organization Registration Fee for the three-part series is $250, which allows access to both the live webcast and an archived online program for one year past the live webinar, with unlimited complimentary CEs (1.5 hours) available for a wide range of professions. If purchased separately, the Organization Fee is $100 per program. Individuals may register for each webinar for $35 and 1.5 hours of CE credit is included for the registered individual.  To learn more about this exciting educational offering, contact HFA at 800-854-3402 or http://www.hospicefoundation.org/education/webinars

Contact: Lisa Veglahn, 800-854-3402

[email protected]

SOURCE Hospice Foundation of America