Bereavement - Sharing an Idea

dawngloves, BSN, RN · Sep 14, 2004

How big are these boxes? Were they in a certain section?

prmenrs, RN · Sep 14, 2004

We had memory boxes that were made by ?a grief support group for moms. They were beautiful--unbelievable. We put photos, the bed name card, a lock of hair. Another craft group made us tiny gowns w/ hand-smocking (!). We could offer that as a burial gown or just give it to them. The hats and booties (knit/crocheted by the "crafts unit" of the volunteer dept) and the afghan were given to them as well. We often sent the family a condolence note from the primary nurses. Anything that was personal.

The lock of hair is usually put in one of the small plastic bags the pharmacy sends us stuff in. Then it goes in the memory box.

The idea is that the mom or dad can go thru this small box whenever they want. The boxes were slightly larger than a cigar box. The top opened in the middle, tied w/a ribbon.

kitty29 · Sep 14, 2004

dawngloves said:
How big are these boxes? Were they in a certain section?

Two sizes---one was about 2" by 2", and the other was 1" by 2". I just asked the lady what I was looking for. They were near the memory book section. The memory book section (for scrapbooking) is where I found the little gold decorations.

MLK RN · Sep 14, 2004

I know this is not related to the hair but in our Bereavement Packages the most awesome thing we got recently were oval blocks of clay that you can put hands and feet impressions in. They even work well on little ones down to 15 weeks!

kitty29 · Sep 14, 2004

prmenrs said:
We had memory boxes that were made by ?a grief support group for moms. They were beautiful--unbelievable. We put photos, the bed name card, a lock of hair. Another craft group made us tiny gowns w/ hand-smocking (!). We could offer that as a burial gown or just give it to them. The hats and booties (knit/crocheted by the "crafts unit" of the volunteer dept) and the afghan were given to them as well. We often sent the family a condolence note from the primary nurses. Anything that was personal.
The lock of hair is usually put in one of the small plastic bags the pharmacy sends us stuff in. Then it goes in the memory box.
The idea is that the mom or dad can go thru this small box whenever they want. The boxes were slightly larger than a cigar box. The top opened in the middle, tied w/a ribbon.

Most of what we have is donated and made also by the ladies aux.. The holder we used was designed by one of the nurses and it is made of cloth and has lace trim and a heart decoration, the whole thing is the size of placemate. We put the educational materials in there, as well as the momentos(photo's or film, plaster cast of foot or hand, memory book, lock of hair, poems...whatever). The bereavement gowns the ladies make varry but are very nice esp. for the very little babys. Another church group does make quilts for all the baby's.

Thank goodness for these donations---they mean so much to the families !

prmenrs, RN · Sep 15, 2004

The people that make these things don't really know what it means to the families. It is a wonderful service, and I am grateful for how special they make them.

I forgot about the feet and hand things. One of our Respiratory Therapists gets the stuff from a craft store, and makes little decorations when the unit is quiet. Then when we have a baby die, we do the foot and hand prints in the plaster and add the pre-made decorations.

A heck of a lot better then the old days when we just tried to encourage the family to forget all about it--just have another baby, as if that made everything allright.

dawngloves, BSN, RN · Sep 15, 2004

MLK, what brand do you use. I tried to do a plaster cast once and the results were pathetic.

kitty29 · Sep 15, 2004

I know this is not related to the hair but in our Bereavement Packages the most awesome thing we got recently were oval blocks of clay that you can put hands and feet impressions in. They even work well on little ones down to 15 weeks!

Oh yes we have these also...and now on transports the team makes one for the family before they leave with the baby! We also use them in bereavement since not all babys have been transported by our team.

kitty29 · Sep 15, 2004

prmenrs said:
A heck of a lot better then the old days when we just tried to encourage the family to forget all about it--just have another baby, as if that made everything allright.

YES! We always have done something for bereaved families since the 25 years I've worked here, but now we are much for organized and knowledgable! With time comes wisdom!

Now to work on some of the residents! The consultants we have right now are great with families.