How to handle the death of a faculty member with young children

[TaylsRN]

This is my first year in school nursing (most of my experience ICU and dealing with death/talking to families of older age). I just received news one of our faculty members has passed away. He was very young, had just had gastric bypass a couple months earlier and was doing great. I work in an inner city school so for most students these faculty members are the closest thing they have to a family or true loving relationship. My kids are preK-8th. How do I deal with this loss as a school nurse? These poor kiddos are going to be devastated to hear the news

[ozned]

I am so sorry for your loss and that of your community. Unfortunately, I too have experienced this in my school. Our director passed away after a short illness. We serve children who are 3-5 year olds, so explaining to them was challenging. We sent home a letter to the parents, giving them the opportunity to share with their children and explaining our plan. Each classroom read the same story which talked about death in a vague way. The teachers then told the children about our coworker and opened it up for discussion. The was about dragonflies, so following the discussion each child made a dragonfly for their special friend, Miss Kim, and they were displayed in the center. In fact, they remain there today. We also built and dedicated a vegetable garden in her honor which is a project she aspired to do and is an ongoing tribute to her. These little reminders of her are helpful on days she is missed, days we need to be reminded we are here for the children and keep her spirit in plain sight to those she impacted. I wish you all peace during this difficult time.