Strengthening Community Partnerships to Expand Grief-Informed Care
At The Children’s Room, we know it takes strong partnerships across schools, health systems, and communities to ensure that no child or teen grieves alone. This summer, our staff had the opportunity to present for several community health organizations across Massachusetts. These opportunities reflect the growing demand for grief-informed care and TCR’s role in helping families connect to support when they need it most.
With Atrius Health, part of Optum, our team met with the Pediatric Behavioral Health staff during their monthly consultation hour. We shared data on the prevalence of childhood bereavement from the Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model and offered an overview of TCR’s programs and services. By helping clinicians understand both the landscape of grief and the specific supports that TCR provides, we can ensure more children and families are connected to compassionate care. As TCR’s Program Director for Center-Based Services, Jen Noonan reflected, “This kind of collaboration between agencies is vital to ensure clinicians are aware of bereavement resources and can connect grieving children, teens, and families with the care and support they need.”
We also partnered with the Pediatric Physicians’ Organization at Boston Children’s Hospital, which includes more than 400 providers across 90 practices statewide. In a three-hour training with 56 behavioral health clinicians, we explored grief interventions appropriate for clinical settings, strategies for supporting grieving families during primary care visits, and resources that normalize conversations about loss. These clinicians play a crucial role in identifying grief early, often during well-child visits or brief consultations. As Jen emphasized, “Presenting to the PPOC matters because it allows us to reach many pediatric primary care providers across Massachusetts, helping ensure that grieving children and families are identified early and connected with the support they need. We were especially grateful to have presented alongside staff from Boston Children’s Hospital who specialize in bereavement work, highlighting the strength of collaboration across care and community.”
In June, TCR also contributed to two statewide webinars for professionals connected to community health centers. For the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, TCR’s Executive Director Jon Gay and Program Director for School and Community-Based Services Christine Lambright led a lunchtime session on how healthcare staff can support caregivers raising children who are grieving. “It was a pleasure to collaborate with the Mass League,” Christine shared. “The organizers told us many of their members had been asking for this topic. They are seeing increasing numbers of their patients and families turning to them for guidance, referrals, and resources after a family member has died.”
Christine also presented at a Massachusetts Association for Mental Health earning community meeting for clinicians providing school-based services through Community Behavioral Health Centers. Participants valued learning about the impact of grief in academic settings and strategies to support and advocate for students who are grieving.
Across all of these presentations, one message was clear: healthcare providers, community health professionals, and school-based clinicians are eager for tools and resources to better support children, teens, and families who are grieving. By sharing TCR’s expertise and building partnerships across these networks, we extend the reach of grief-informed care far beyond our center in Arlington.
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If your school, organization, or community would like to organize a presentation, consultation, or professional development with TCR, we’d love to connect. Reach us at info@childrensroom.org.
