Coping with loss and bereavement: Sunday coffee chat and support hour

Coping with loss and bereavement Sunday coffee chat and support hour (part two).

Keeping It REAL Caregiving strives to bring you various experts in the field of aging to offer REAL talk about REAL issues. In this session, we discuss the reality facing many: losing a loved one and how to cope with bereavement.

In this episode, KIRC is joined by Toni Miles, MD, PhD, FGSA, Epidemiologist.

Dr. Miles is an advisor to eldercare initiatives including the CDC Healthy Brain, Georgia’s Alzheimer’s Task Force, and the John A. Hartford Foundation.

Based at the University of Georgia, Dr. Miles works with organizations to identify Best Practices in Bereavement Care.

Does time heal all wounds?

I first met Dr. Miles in the fall of 2020, during a journalism fellowship program with the Gerontological Society of America.

At that time, I produced a story about the impacts of Covid-19 on our elders, especially how the virus was claiming the lives of so many in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

The depth of loss was and continues to be great. The AARP Nursing Home Covid-19 Dashboard reminds us of just how many individuals we have lost. Recent data puts the deaths from Covid-19 at close to150,000 here in the United States. Now, consider other causes of death which have claimed lives. We must always remember these are not just numbers. It is loved ones and family members.

Bereavement resources

Coping with loss and bereavement may look different for each individual. Dr. Miles has created a series of care booklets available to the public. You can find those below:

Best Practices in Bereavement Care (family)