TRU

Caring For Our Community Since 1976.

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Join us for our 40th bash!

May 10, 2016 by TRU Community Care

Pace photo

Mark your calendars! In celebration of our 40th, TRU Community Care will be hosting an anniversary party on Sunday, June 26 from 2 to 5 p.m. and all of TRU’s supporters are invited to attend. The celebration will also include the grand opening for our new PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care of the Elderly) and Grief Services building. PACE is a comprehensive program that helps nursing-home eligible seniors live as independently as possible.

The event will be held at 2593 Park Lane in Lafayette, around the corner from our existing administrative offices on Trailridge Drive. We hope to see you there!

Filed Under: 40th Anniversary, News, Events, Community Tagged With: grand opening, anniversary, PACE, hospice, Boulder, Grief

Crochet Grief Group is April 30

April 26, 2016 by TRU Community Care

crochet-needle-and-handwork

We are partnering with Children’s Hospital and two of our Healing Circle’s bereaved PEDS parents to offer this unique one-day grief group. Together we will explore the healing powers of knitting and crocheting. This group is a knitting and crocheting workshop for all interested families to come learn how to use these skills to cope with the stresses and heavy feelings of grief. 

Meeting: Saturday, April 30 from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Location: Children’s Hospital, 13123 East 16th Ave, Aurora, 80045

Contact: Michon Davies at TRU Community Care 303.604-5330 or  Cassie at Children’s Hospital cassandramatz@childrenscolorado.org.

Download the flyer here: Crochet Day Flyer 2016

Filed Under: Grief, Community, Events, Children, Adult, Grief Groups Tagged With: Grief, hospice, crochet, parents

Healing with Horses returns for 2016

April 20, 2016 by TRU Community Care

 

Welcome tomichon hwh Healing with Horses…

We are currently taking applications for the summer sessions of Healing with Horses. This powerful experience combines equine-assisted activities with grief support for kids and teens ages 5 to 18, and provides a nurturing environment for expressing feelings, learning about grief coping strategies and exploring the healing process with peers who are also grieving a death loss.

Through Healing with Horses, grieving kids and teens:

  • Develop or improve equine skills
  • Work together in a safe and supportive setting, gaining trust in themselves and each other
  • Learn to control a horse, affording them opportunities to feel a genuine sense of accomplishment, greater confidence and inner strength
  • Share stories and memories, have fun and release physical and emotional energy
  • Become aware of the many aspects of the grieving process, and discover what will help and support them

When:        Runs through the fall on Tuesdays, from 5-6:30 p.m.

Location:  Medicine Horse, 8778 Arapahoe Road, Boulder CO, 80303 

Register:   Call Michon Davies 303-604-5330,

Pre-registration is required to participate.

For more details, see our grief services page.

Filed Under: Grief, Community, Children, Grief Groups, Healing with Horses Tagged With: Grief, hospice, children, horses

Healing Circles Mother’s Day Event

April 20, 2016 by TRU Community Care

Healing Circles MotMothers Day Wreathher’s Day Event

During this Mother’s Day, create something that you can hang and that will honor your special person. Kids process grief through play and art so every come and create something together. This art workshop is for kids, teens and families, helping them remember the special person who has died: a mother, an aunt, a grandma, a friend. Wreaths are often the symbols of the circle of life and of seasons.

This event will be held on Saturday, May 7 from 9:30 am. – 12:30 p.m. at the TRU Community Care Grief Services Office, 5565 Arapahoe Ste A, Boulder.

For more information or to reserve your spot, contact Michon Davies at 303.604-5330 or by email at michondavies@trucare.org.

Download the flyer here: Healing Circles Mother’s Day Flyer 2016

Filed Under: Grief, Holidays, Community, Events, News, Children, Grief Groups Tagged With: Grief, Mother's Day, children

Movie highlight: “Way to Go: Death and the Irish”

April 18, 2016 by TRU Community Care

 

As those involved in hospice know very well, death is something few in our society want to talk about or acknowledge, yet it is a certainty. Why bother talking about it at all? In this the documentary, filmmaker Norah Casey explores Ireland’s relationship with death, speaking to healthcare professionals as well as people with terminal illnesses who share their thoughts on the last months of their lives. The film also includes contributions from well-known figures such as Gabriel Byrne, broadcasters Marian Finucane and George Hook, plus comments from members of the Irish public.
Check out this thought-provoking piece meant to promote open discussion on the topics of death and dying, as it has as much to say to Boulder County as it does to Ireland. It may seem too early – until it’s too late.

Filed Under: Adult, Children, Advanced Directives, Community, Grief Tagged With: movies, death, documentary, hospice, Boulder, Grief, end-of-life

Hiking Off the Grief with TRU

February 26, 2016 by TRU Community Care

Updated post! Dates are set for our kids-teens-and-parent hiking groups.

hiking photoOnce again this season, we will offer a way to combine exercise and support for people who are grieving or caregiving. The idea for organizing hikes came from a realization that “nature heals”, and that participating in a traditional grief support group, especially immediately after a loss, can be too difficult for some people.The hikes have a mostly free structure. Route, pace and duration are flexible, depending on the participants, the weather and the season.Making connections with fellow hikers, especially those who have shared similar losses, can be the greatest comfort. Caregivers too stand to benefit, both from the emotional support and respite these outings provide.
TRU Hiking Groups are open to Boulder hospice families, as well as the community. 

For Kids, Teens and Parents
This offering is for families – parents will go on one trail, teens will go on another and kids will go on their own.  Each group will have a group facilitator. We do a series of six hikes and you can remember your special person who has died, be around others that are going through the same thing and get support.
You are responsible for transportation to the meeting place at the trailhead each week and to bring water and snacks. Pre-registration required, with hikes starting on Tuesday, May 3 at 5 p.m. at the Chautauqua ranger station. See our grief services page for details and to RSVP.

 

Filed Under: Community, Grief Tagged With: hospice, Boulder, hiking, outdoors, Grief

5 Ways to Heal through Nature

February 26, 2016 by TRU Community Care

hiking photoHow can we consciously use nature to heal from grief? It’s a question that comes up here at TRU Community Care, and we recognize, especially in our active, outdoor-focused community, that people heal in many different ways. Here are several suggestions from Mother Nature Network.

  1. Explore nature-based rituals – There are a myriad of options for incorporating nature into ceremonies.
  2. Get out more – Simply set a routine to keep moving after the loss of a loved one.
  3. Use visualization – Hold images of nature in your mind, as an inspiration to keep going.
  4. Start a garden: For those who are grieving, gardening has many therapeutic qualities.
  5. Be creative – There is no “right way”… seek out ideas and activities that work for you.

    Adapted from “How Nature Can Help Us Heal From Grief” by Sami Grover. Mother Nature Network, April 16, 2013

Filed Under: Grief, Season Tagged With: Grief, outdoors

Transitions

January 27, 2015 by TRU Community Care

Transitions into the New Year

By TRU Grief Services 

butterflyI had to look up the definition of “transitions” in order to really clearly understand it in relationship to grief.  Transition is the process or period of changing from one state or condition to another.  I had to think about that old adage about grief which states “don’t make any big changes the first year after someone dies” and then I realized that maybe people say this because there are so many little changes going on all the time after a loss.  Add a couple of big changes, along with the little changes, it is too much and things just don’t feel safe.

When someone you love dies and there is a change in the family, roles shift, feelings are different for everyone, and everyone is impacted directly or indirectly.  There was a 13 year-old boy who told me that he wasn’t close to his great-grandma and so he wasn’t missing her, but everyone else in the family was grieving and so he was affected by their grief. He experienced the transition of a family’s grief process indirectly which in turn had a direct impact on him.

Sometimes people handle change in healthy ways, such as talking or connecting with others in activities, or some just don’t have a good way to handle their grief.  They go to their defense mechanisms: they deny, they avoid, they drink too much, they numb their emotions however they can.  However, the changes and transitions continue to happen, no matter how you cope with them.

Part of grief is being aware that you are in a state of significant change.  Your relationship to your special person who has died has changed because that person is physically not here.  How you define your emotional and spiritual relationship to your special person after the death is a highly personal one.  As we go through those million little changes from changing what you buy at the grocery store, for example, to not sleeping and waking up at all times of the night, our bodies know that we are in transition.  You might need more sleep.  Some people get sick after the death of a loved one.  Your body cannot ignore, minimize, or avoid what has happened and it often serves as a good guidepost to tell you how you are handling the transitions.

Figure out what helps you both positively and negatively get through the transitions of grief.  It is often hard to accept truth or manage the yearning for that special person to accept what is now.  It helps to know what helps you cope.  Basic things can feel overwhelming if there is so much change happening.  Sometimes those transitions are big and they have to be made right away after a death of a loved one.  Do I go into a skilled nursing facility?  Can I change schools where I am not bullied?   Do I sell the family house because I lost my job?  These are all things that contradict the adage “don’t make any major changes in the first year after someone dies.”

I can only conclude there is not any hard or fast rule about how to handle transitions in grief, but to try to be aware that you are going through them and that there are lots of little transitions and big ones, too.  It is sometimes hard to remember the good ways you cope.  Remember to have compassion for yourself as you would for someone else.   Listen to your body and you will know when you are through with some changes while others will take longer.  Grief does not understand timelines or deadlines.  It takes as long as it takes.  Best thought? Be mindful and patient with yourself and others.  Stay in support, safety and comfort during grief transitions.

 

Filed Under: Grief Tagged With: Grief, Change, New Years

7 Tips for Surviving Mother’s Day When Your Child Has Died

April 29, 2014 by TRU Community Care

Grief Support

7 Tips for Surviving Mother’s Day When Your Child Has Died

Over the first year following a death, you’ll have to go through the “firsts”—the first birthday, holiday season, and other special days. It can be helpful to prepare for these special days so you don’t get caught off guard.

Tip 1: Be gentle with yourself

You may feel anger, sadness, guilt or a range of other emotions because your child died before you. These emotions are very common with grief—don’t try to suppress them.

Tip 2:  Seek out emotional support

Seeking support is a sign of courage, not weakness. Everyone grieves in their own time and their own way.

Tip 3: Be patient with yourself

Talk openly with trusted family and friends about your child and encourage them to talk openly with you too—hearing your child’s name mentioned can be helpful. Plant a flower or tree with a marker that bears your baby’s name.

Tip 4: Create your own memorial

You can be creative and put your energy into doing something in memory of your child.

Tip 5: Light a candle

If you never held your baby due to a pregnancy loss, celebrate your child by lighting a candle.

Tip 6: Give yourself permission to grieve, talk, and journal

If you have not been able to conceive, follow the suggestions above that are right for you. Give yourself permission to grieve, talk, and journal.

Tip 7: Talk about your feelings with your spouse

Talk about your feelings with your spouse and encourage him or her to express to you how they are feeling.

If you’d like information or resources on grief and child loss, call (303) 604-5300, email griefservices@trucare.org, or visit our grief services page.

 

Filed Under: Grief, Season Tagged With: Grief, Child Loss, Holidays

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About TRU

TRU Community Care (TRU) affirms life at every step of your journey with illness and loss. Our vision is to lead a healthcare transformation by engaging with our communities and offering innovative, meaningful care for those living with illness and loss.

Founded as Boulder Hospice in 1976, TRU is a Colorado-licensed, Medicare and Medicaid-certified, nonprofit health care organization serving Boulder, Broomfield, Adams, Jefferson, Arapahoe, Denver, and Weld Counties and beyond. With a focus on providing a continuum of care for members of our community living with advanced illness and loss, TRU’s programs include TRU Hospice, TRU PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly), TRU Palliative Care, Landmark Memory Care, and TRU Grief Services.

TRU Hospice is proudly accredited by The Joint Commission and is a five-star-level hospice in NHPCO's We Honor Veterans program created in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). TRU is a member of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE), and the National PACE Association (NPA).

Our Services

TRU Grief Services
& Administrative Offices
2594 Trailridge Drive East
Lafayette, CO 80026

TRU Hospice Care Center
1950 Mountain View Avenue
4th Floor South
Longmont, CO 80501

TRU Thrift Shop
5565 Arapahoe Avenue
Boulder, CO 80303

TRU PACE Program
2593 Park Lane
Lafayette, CO 80026

TRU Memory Care
1744 S Public Road
Lafayette, CO 80026

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