Legislation that would expand bereavement care through funding to hospices, palliative care providers and other healthcare organizations is receiving a thumbs-up from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the Hospice Action Network.
Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY) introduced the Grief Resilience Investment and Education Fund (GRIEF) Act to address growing mental health challenges families are encountering during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Compassion for individuals experiencing loss is at the heart of the collective hospice and
palliative care community,” Ben Marcantonio, COO and interim CEO of NHPCO and HAN said in a statement.” The ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have increased the urgency to care for grieving individuals, families, and communities. Many hospices are currently providing bereavement support to their communities without any funding. We are grateful for Representative Morelle’s leadership in moving this important legislation forward.”
The legislation provides funding for grief counseling for individuals and families, bereavement care for children, education and training for bereavement care providers and peer support. The GRIEF Act would also provide money for a national public information campaign on bereavement and research to examine prolonged grief and the best treatment approaches to it.
Morelle said establishing a national grief strategy will help strengthen accessibility for care and reduce the stigma around mental health, while also building cultural awareness about bereavement.
“It is my hope that this legislation helps end the stigma around mental health and ensure families can access the essential support they deserve,” Morelle said in a statement.
More than one million Americans have died from COVID-19 since March 2020, according to the Centers to Disease Control and Prevention.
