Tidewell Virtual and Drive-Thru Events Connect Grieving Families
Tidewell Hospice has remained committed to serving families with quality care and continuing its services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the halting of traditional in-person engagements, Tidewell was able to get creative in bringing its Blue Butterfly Family Grief Center services to its families.
Children and caregivers from the program were invited to the Blue Butterfly Family Grief Center in Sarasota County for a drive-thru ice cream party, giving them a chance to see their Blue Butterfly family after four months of being apart. As part of the event, families were able to register for a virtual grief painting session in which they learned how to paint the program’s symbolic blue butterfly.
During the painting session, children were encouraged to share feelings about their grief and the meaning behind their work. These events help grieving children and families stay connected and reassure them that they’re not alone, especially right now.
“Our nation, our community, has perhaps never seen such isolation in the midst of such great loss and challenges,” said Tidewell President and CEO Jonathan Fleece. “We want our Blue Butterfly families, and anyone in our community who needs support, to know that they’re not alone during this time of tremendous anxiety, sadness and grief.”
Tidewell’s Blue Butterfly is the only evidence-based program in the region that helps grieving children, teens and caregivers through professional counseling, peer-support groups and therapeutic activities. Tidewell’s grief and bereavement services are 100 percent donor supported and are free for residents of the communities that Tidewell serves in addition to patients and families. Along with innovating to meet the needs of its Blue Butterfly patients, Tidewell has worked to expand its existing resources and programs to those in the community who need it most.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Tidewell launched its Community Hope Line, open to all individuals in the Suncoast community who need help dealing with today’s challenges. The Tidewell Community Hope Line provides free grief support, spiritual support and social support for callers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Area residents in need of support can connect with the Tidewell Community Hope Line by calling 855-930-HOPE (4673) or 941-556-HOPE (4673), or via email at communityhope@tidewell.org.
To learn more about Tidewell’s Blue Butterfly Family Grief Center, visit tidewellhospice.org/home/programs/grief-support/blue-butterfly/. To support these services and Tidewell’s mission to care for those who need it most, visit tidewellhospice.org/home/tidewellfoundation or call 941-552-7546.
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About Tidewell Hospice
Celebrating its 40th Anniversary, Tidewell Hospice is an independent, not-for-profit health provider offering a home-centered, comprehensive system of end of life and palliative care for people living with advanced illness and their families. Annually, Tidewell provides care for nearly 10,000 patients throughout its four-county service area of Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties. Hospice houses and offices are located in Arcadia, Bradenton, Englewood, Lakewood Ranch, Palmetto, Port Charlotte, Sarasota and Venice. As the region’s only not-for-profit hospice, Tidewell relies on donor contributions to provide a number of its acclaimed patient and community services. Tidewell is accredited by the Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP) with deemed status, signifying excellent care and meeting Medicare’s conditions of participation.
About Tidewell Foundation, Inc.
The Tidewell Foundation, Inc. is an independent 501 (c) (3) charitable foundation established to ensure perpetual philanthropic support to Tidewell Hospice and the healthcare companies within the Stratum Health System family. Charitable contributions to the Tidewell Foundation sustain and grow the critically important programs and services provided through the not-for-profit mission of Tidewell Hospice and its affiliates. Donor-funded programs offer compassion and comfort to those who need it most in our community by caring for all, regardless of their ability to pay. It starts with generosity and is paid forward with every patient connection, family served and life changed.
Discover how each donation strengthens our community; learn more by visiting www.tidewellfoundation.org.
