Thanks for reading. Celtic Healthcare in Smart Business Magazine is a post from Celtic Healthcare

At this conference, homecare and hospice executives come together to collaborate and share best practices, discuss solutions for the future and continually strive for management excellence.

The conference is being kicked off with Keynote Speaker Dr. Morten Hansen, co-author of Jim Collins’ newly released book: Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos and Luck — Why some Thrive Despite Them All.

In order for homecare and hospice to play an important role in getting our healthcare system back on track, we need to educate legislators, others in healthcare, and the public on the power of the home care and hospice value proposition.  The objective of the Home Care 100 is to prepare and equip leaders for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

We are proud to have Arnie and Celtic Healthcare represented among this group of elite executive leaders.

Thanks for reading. Celtic Healthcare at 10th Annual Home Care 100 is a post from Celtic Healthcare

This is the fifth year that Burchianti, as representative for Celtic Healthcare, has been invited to participate in this prestigious strategic planning congress.  Burchianti, Val Halamandaris, NAHC President, Bill Simione of Simione Consultants, Bob Fazzi of Fazzi Associates, and the other influential leaders from across the country will review the issues and priorities from 2011, discuss the potential obstacles to success, identify threats that will prevent our industry from achieving the goals, and identify and prioritize key strategies that will facilitate achievement of the vision.

Additional discussions will revolve around the legislative and regulatory environment, creative thinking, and critical issues in the homecare, hospice and private duty industry.

We are proud that Burchianti and Celtic Healthcare are part of this important strategic session for our industry.  We will report and share more in the coming days.

Thanks for reading. Celtic Healthcare at NAHC 2012 Strategic Planning Congress is a post from Celtic Healthcare

Heart failure is a condition that develops when the heart muscle becomes weakened after it is injured from something like a heart attack or high blood pressure and loses its ability to pump enough blood throughout the body.

Thanks for reading. February is American Heart Month: Predicting & Preventing Heart Failure is a post from Celtic Healthcare

Watch CNN (Celtic News Network) Anchor Arnie Burchianti and Larry King announce our GROW Celtic Winners for Quarter 4, 2011 here!

Thanks for reading. GROW Celtic Winners Announced for Quarter 4 2011 is a post from Celtic Healthcare

In Part 4, the conclusion of our series on grief, we address how to help a friend or loved one deal with grief.

It can be difficult to find the right words to show someone you care when they are grieving.  People are often afraid of saying the wrong thing, intruding, making the person you care about feel worse.  It is important to know, however, that there are many ways you can help provide comfort and support to a grieving friend or family member.  Simply having someone to lean on, listen, and be there can be a great support.  You needn’t have all the answers or give advice.  The most important thing you can do is to simply be there.

Realize that it is common to feel awkward in knowing what to do or say to someone who is grieving.  The following suggestions may help during this difficult time:

• Acknowledge the situation.  “I heard that your _______ died.”  This shows that you are open to talk about the situation.
• Express concern.  “I’m sorry to hear that this happened to you.”
• Be genuine.  “I’m not sure what to do or say, but I want you to know I care.”
• Offer support.  “Please let me know what I can do for you.”
• Ask how your friend or loved one feels.  Do not presume to know how they feel.  Be a good listener.
• Find practical ways to help.  Deliver a meal or meals that freeze well and can be heated up in the coming days and weeks.  Offer to go grocery shopping or errand running, or even do their laundry.  If your friend or loved one has children, offer to take them to their activities, lessons, or sporting events, or just offer to take them on a special outing with you.
• Stay connected.  Don’t stop calling or visiting.  Make note of important dates and acknowledge them in the days, months, and even year to come.

Remember that you cannot make things better, but you can walk beside your friend or loved one as they cope with their loss.

If you need more information on helping your friend or loved one deal with grief, please contact us at Celtic Healthcare and ask to speak to one of our Bereavement Counselors.

Thanks for reading. How can I Help my Friend or Loved One Deal with Grief? is a post from Celtic Healthcare

In Part 3 of our series on grief, today we will look at ways in which you can help your child(ren) deal with grief.

Talking to children about death must be focused on each individual child’s developmental level and sensitive to the child’s capacity to understand and comprehend the particular situation.

Children will watch and be aware of the reactions of adults around them and how they are dealing with their grief.  Children may respond with shock, regressive behaviors, acting out, or repeatedly asking the same questions over and over in an effort to understand something that they are having difficulty with.

Below are some tips to help children deal with their grief:

• Ask the child to tell their story.  Be a good listener.
• Remember that all children deal with grief differently.
• Acknowledge that grieving is a process, not an event.  It will take time.
• Don’t lie – it doesn’t help the child through the healing process.
• Give the child appropriate information for their understanding level.
• Encourage children to ask questions, and answer them honestly and appropriately.
• Remember a child will need ongoing and long-lasting support through this process.
• Understand and express to the child that grief is complicated.
• Be aware of your own grief.  Family counseling and support may be helpful.
• Help children understand changes in their friends and families’ behavior, and let them know this is not personal or a permanent change in their relationship.
• A child may need some help with options to offer in providing support to those they love.  You might recommend making cards, drawings, help with chores or homework, errands, shopping, cleaning, etc. depending on their age and level of ability.
• A child who is frightened about attending a funeral should not be forced to go.  Children should be allowed to express feelings about their loss and grief in their own way.  This might be in the form of lighting a candle in honor of the deceased loved one, saying a prayer, making a scrapbook, reviewing photographs, or telling a story.

Many resources are available — from books to counselors to community organizations — that can provide guidance. Your efforts will go a long way in helping your child get through this difficult time.

If you need or would like additional support, do not hesitate to contact Celtic Healthcare’s bereavement team.  We will be happy to help you and your child(ren) deal with this difficult time.

Tomorrow, in Part 4, the conclusion of our series on grief, we will discuss how you can help a friend or loved one deal with grief.

Thanks for reading. How Can I Help My Child(ren) Deal with Grief? is a post from Celtic Healthcare

We are pleased to announce the recent certification Lori Putnam, Director of Human Resources for Celtic Healthcare, received  as a Certified Behavioral Analyst.

 
Lori received this certification through her completion of the Advanced Behavioral Analysis course administered through the Institute of Motivational Living, Inc.

 
The Advanced Behavioral Analysis certification is an in-depth study of DISC analysis and DISC graph interpretation in business, corporate and professional coaching environments.  The course includes the study of business and personal applications as well as consulting through the use of the leadership PowerDISC application.

We congratulate Lori on this achievement, and we also appreciate the added benefit it will bring to her role in Leadership Development at Celtic Healthcare.

Thanks for reading. Lori Putnam, Director of Human Resources, achieves Certification as Behavioral Analyst is a post from Celtic Healthcare

In Part 2 of our series on Grief, we will look at the question:  How do I deal with this Grief?

Unfortunately, everyone loses someone close to him or her at some point during his or her life.  This loss causes us to enter into a state of grieving.  This time of grieving can be very painful, and some might find it tempting to deny this grief in an attempt to avoid the pain.  Many years of research, however, have shown that it is much healthier to accept these painful feelings and work through the grieving process.

J. William Worden, PhD, author of Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy, describes “The Four Tasks of Mourning” as a means by which a person works through the pain of grieving for a loved one, and moves into the next phase of life.

1. Accept the reality of loss
The first impulse for many people is to deny the loss.  The denial can vary greatly from downplaying the loss to having the delusion that the person is still alive.  Intellectual understanding of the death is often easier than emotional understanding.

2. Work through the pain of grief

Feeling the pain of grief is difficult.  The pain can be both emotional and physical.  Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid it.  Some try to avoid the pain by keeping busy, working, traveling, or using drugs or alcohol, but this only prolongs the process.  Allowing oneself to work through this pain is the most beneficial way of resolving the mourning process.

3. Adjust to an environment in which the deceased is missing

While grieving the loss of a loved one, we also grieve parts of our life that will never be the same.  Sometimes the realization of this takes several months.  Certain shared activities are lost leaving a feeling of emptiness.  This is a normal feeling for a while, but we must come to a point of acceptance and move on to other people and activities.  This will allow for new opportunities for companionship and love.

4. Emotionally relocate the deceased and move on with life

This task can be especially hard at first because it can feel like you are being disloyal when you start to think about enjoying a life that does not include your deceased loved one.  This is a normal part of the grieving and healing process, and you must allow yourself to have these feelings.

Sharon O’Brien, MA, LPC, in About.com Senior Living* offers the following advice:

Learning to cherish a memory without letting it control you is a very important step in the grieving process. By finding a special safe ‘place’ for that person, you can heal from grieving and move back into your life. You begin to find joy in new experiences, and you can take comfort in the knowledge that you keep your cherished memories with you, wherever you go.

The ‘place’ where you decide to keep your memories is up to you. You can visualize tucking your loved one into a space in your heart, or you can keep a box of cherished photos or mementoes. Perhaps you would like to find a special tree or nature setting that you can revisit. Give some thought to where you would like to hold memories of your loved one.  The important thing is learning how to cherish a memory without being stuck there.

For many people, the hardest part of losing a loved one and grieving that loss is figuring out what to do with all the love they feel for the person who is gone.  Remind yourself that you do not have to stop loving someone just because he or she is no longer with you. When a memory pops up, send a loving thought and know that you are loved in return. You may find comfort in this, and the strength to continue in your journey.

Please join us tomorrow, when we continue our series on grief by looking at the question:  How Can I Help My Child(ren) Deal with Grief?

If you need or would like additional support, do not hesitate to contact Celtic Healthcare’s bereavement team.  We will be happy to help you or your loved one deal with this difficult time.

*about.com

Thanks for reading. How Do I Deal with this Grief? is a post from Celtic Healthcare

This week, we are going to take an extensive look at Grief in a four-part blog series:

1. What is Grief?
2. How Do I Deal with this Grief?
3. How Can I Help My Child(ren) Deal with Grief?
4. How Can I Help My Loved One Deal with Grief?

We will be posting a new message daily – beginning today with answering the question:  What is Grief?

According to thefreedictionary.com, grief is “deep mental anguish, as that arising from bereavement,” or “deep or intense sorrow or distress, especially at the death of someone.”

We will all deal with grief at some point or another during our lifetime.  How each of us deals with it is as individual as we all are as human beings.  However, some common stages are experienced by anyone dealing with grief.

The Kubler-Ross model, commonly known as The Five Stages of Grief, was a theory first introduced by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, a psychiatrist and pioneer in near-death studies, in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying.

The stages, popularly known by the acronym DABDA, include:

1. Denial — “I feel fine.”; “This can’t be happening, not to me.”
2. Anger — “Why me? It’s not fair!”; “How can this happen to me?”; “Who is to blame?”
   In this stage, the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue.
3. Bargaining — “I’ll do anything for a few more years.”; “I will give my life savings if…”
   This stage involves the hope that the individual can somehow postpone or delay death or change circumstances.
4. Depression — “I’m so sad, why bother with anything?”; “What’s the point?”; “I miss my loved one, why go on?”  During this stage, the individual may become silent, refuse visitors and spend much of the time crying and grieving.  It is not recommended to attempt to cheer up an individual who is in this stage. It is an important time for grieving that must be processed.
5. Acceptance — “It’s going to be okay.”; “I can’t fight it, I may as well prepare for it.”
   In this last stage, individuals begin to come to terms with their mortality, or that of a loved one, or other tragic event.

These stages are not meant to be complete and are not necessarily experienced in this chronological order.  Not everyone who experiences a life-threatening or life-altering event experiences all of these stages.  Some people may get stuck in one stage.  But, according to the Kubler-Ross model, a person will always experience at least two of the stages. Often, people will experience several stages in a “roller coaster” effect—switching between two or more, and then returning to one or more several times before working through the grieving process completely.  Of interesting note:  women are more likely than men to experience all five stages of grief.*

Please check back in with us tomorrow, when we look at the question:  How Do I Deal with this Grief?

If you need or would like additional support, do not hesitate to contact Celtic Healthcare’s bereavement team.  We will be happy to help you or your loved one deal with this difficult time.

*Wikipedia.com

Thanks for reading. What is Grief? is a post from Celtic Healthcare