National Palliative Care Week, held this year from May 22 to 28, is supported by the Department of Health and aims to raise awareness and understanding about palliative and end-of-life care in Australia.

To acknowledge the importance of palliative care, Calvary Retirement Communities has introduced new initiatives, including the ‘Seasons for Growth’ staff education program.

This pilot initiative – run for Calvary Cessnock staff by external party Good Grief – is an innovative grief and loss education program that uses the metaphor of the seasons to illustrate the experience of grief.

Seasons for Growth is a three-hour workshop on grief and loss. It aims to strengthen the social and emotional wellbeing of adults, children and young people who are dealing with significant life changes by exploring the impact of change and loss on everyday life and learning new ways to respond to those changes.

“One of the most confronting elements of working in aged care is the degree of grief and loss we are exposed to,” Calvary Cessnock Pastoral care coordinator Andrew Mead said.

“Its premise is that in everyone’s lives we experience change and loss, but most of us simply don’t understand the impact.

“The workshop explores how change, loss, grief and behaviour are all linked, and that by understanding this, we can make sense of our own experience of grief and loss.”

Pastoral care worker Sally Lavis said the program has been presented to 100 staff, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

“The program is very interactive, very gentle, and designed as an educational experience rather than a time for personal sharing.

“It ends with an exploration of how we can each be empowered in the face of grief and loss, and the importance of self-care.

“We hope this will make a very real difference for staff in relation to their own experiences of grief and loss, particularly in the workplace.”