Wounded Warriors Bereavement Coordinator Guide

Deborah Grassman’s presentation, “Wounded Warriors: Their Last Battle” has dramatically and almost singlehandedly increased awareness of Veterans and their unique end-of-life issues in both VA and the community. Not only has Ms Grassman given this presentation to dozens of audiences across the country, a DVD has been widely distributed to VA and community healthcare providers as an effective teaching tool. Although the presentation focuses on Veterans and the impact military service has had on their life and impending death, it also contains insights into the family’s experience and offers perspectives for understanding how these experiences can impact on and often complicate grief and bereavement. The questions posed in this facilitator’s guide are meant to help Bereavement Directors and Coordinators use the “Wounded Warriors” DVD as a point of departure for exploring issues faced by the families of Veterans with hospice staff and volunteers. The DVD can be viewed in segments or in its entirety followed by a facilitated discussion using some or all of the questions in the Guide. If the DVD is not available, see the resource list at the bottom of this document for alternate sources of materials that can be used in its place. This Guide was developed by a workgroup of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s (NHPCO) Veterans Advisory Council (VAC) and is part of a series of materials and resources produced for hospice and other healthcare providers in the community. The workgroup is constantly seeking to improve and update all of these resources and would like to hear from you about this Guide: How you have used it How effective it is How easy it is to use Suggestions for improving it Please send your comments to NHPCO at Veterans@nhpco.org.