The death of a child creates a wave of emotional trauma that reverberates through families, schools, faith communities, sports teams, and entire communities. Healthcare providers have a unique opportunity to build partnerships with funeral professionals in the emotional and complex responsibility of guiding a family through many difficult decisions that can shape the final moments and memories of a family and their community following the death of a child. This session will present findings from an innovative project that brought together hospital, hospice, funeral service, grief professionals and parents to examine best practices for the continuum of care following the death of a child.

No matter the age, children anticipate, experience, and grieve the death of loved ones. Participants will explore the developmental understanding of death through the eyes of a child. Developmentally appropriate tools will be shared to encourage inclusion and involvement of younger family members in the illness and anticipated death of their loved ones as well as the grief process that follows.