Navigating grief as part of Palliative Care

Jocelyne Tranquilla didn’t necessarily plan to work as the Bereavement Coordinator of the Palliative Care Service in Central Zone. In fact, she muses that she “hates hospitals,” but it was through her natural career journey as a social worker where she often found herself working with clients, patients and loved ones at the intersection of grief and loss.

I spent seven years working at the [Nova Scotia Arthritis Care and] Rehabilitation Centre, and in homeless shelters,” said Tranquilla, “where grief and loss might not be what we're talking about, but what they're very present.”

In her role, Tranquilla connects with the loved ones of patients who have died within the palliative care service in the central zone. She introduces herself while visiting Palliative Care Floor 7A at the QEII Health Sciences Centre’s Victoria General site, but she says most of her engagement happens after the palliative care patient’s death.

“Grief is a part of the palliative care continuum of care,” said Tranquilla as she explains that those experiencing grief often self-refer for support after their loss. “This can be six days, six months or six years after their loved one’s death.”

Tranquilla advises those who are actively grieving of resources available to help them feel connected during their loss (I don’t really understand this sentence). Loved ones can self-refer to the Bereavement Program, and they will be provided with support that aligns with their unique needs.

“Often,” she said, “I will get a phone call asking for resources saying, ‘I need information to help my child understand the death…’ There are many supports we offer – from individual counseling, or group grief support groups. – to the memorials hosted twice a year for the people who have died in palliative care.”

She continued, “We also have most of our grief supports and resources linked on the new Nova Scotia Health website. It’s a good source. But the support we offer is as individual as the person who is actively grieving.”

More than her work with patients and their loved ones, Tranquilla aspires to act as a grief educator for other healthcare colleagues. Through this approach, Tranquilla works with care teams so that they understand what grief supports are available to their patients and for themselves in Central Zone. Tranquilla also hosts monthly sessions to help physicians, clinicians and other providers grieving the loss of patients. 

“Also, a big, big part of my job is normalizing grief. That grief is not an illness, or a pathology and that grief can be the most difficult part of the human experience,” she said. “But it’s part of our interdependence as humans. We experience grief because we love and because we care.”

“In all of the sadness, it gives me hope because grief is rooted in our need for each other.”

National Hospice Palliative Care Week runs May 5-11.