Frederick Health, the largest healthcare provider in Frederick County, is pleased to announce an ongoing partnership with Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) that brings grief counseling to students within the education system.
Beginning in October of 2022, Frederick Health Hospice has served as the primary provider of one-on-one grief counseling sessions for students at all FCPS schools. If a student is grieving, they can be referred to the program by a teacher, a guidance counselor, or a parent or guardian. This service is free to FCPS students.
Everyone experiences grief differently, and grieving children and teens have unique communication styles. To help address the specific needs of school-aged children, a licensed, specially trained grief counselor, who is also fluent in Spanish, is made available to students to help guide and talk them through feelings of loss.
“We’ve known for years that there were many grieving children in Frederick County that we were just not reaching, whether due to transportation barriers, parental work schedules, or other challenges,” said Kaili Van Waveren, Bereavement Care Supervisor with Frederick Health Hospice.
Since launching this program, scores of students have benefited from hundreds of hours of free counseling and support.
“We are so grateful to finally meet this need in our community,” added Van Waveren.
