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<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About this site: "><U>About this site: </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="TCF National Conference "><U>TCF National Conference </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Angel of Hope in Maple Grove "><U>Angel of Hope in Maple Grove </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="angel_page.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Angel page"><U>Angel page</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="grace.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Missing GRACE "><U>Missing GRACE </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="parents_murdered_children.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Parents of Murdered Children"><U>Parents of Murdered Children</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="news___books.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="News and Books"><U>News and Books</U></A></div> <div> <B>News Archive</B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id69.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Book review: Touching the Edge"><U><IMG SRC="1a53c310.gif" border=0 width="60" height="49" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="the_compassionate_friends_minneapolis.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About us"><U><IMG SRC="1e87d7f0.gif" border=0 width="125" height="127" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Minneapolis Chapter"><U><I><B><U><IMG SRC="1c94c310.gif" border=0 width="76" height="49" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id3_alexandria_mn_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Twin Cities area Minnesota Chapters"><U>Other Minnesota Chapters</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.compassionatefriends.org/links.shtml" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.compassionatefriends.org/link"><U>National TCF Websites</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Minneapolis Chapter of The Compassionate"><U><U>home</U></U></A></div> <div> <B>The Newsletter of the Minneapolis Chapter of The Compassionate Friends is published 4 times a year.  This is the 18th year that our newsletter has been published.</B></div> <div> <B><U>Voice mail</U></B><B>:</B></div> <div> <B>952/975-3627</B></div> <div> <B> </B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B><U>CONTACT:</U></B></FONT></div> <div> <B>Steve Rudenick, 952/475- 1350.</B></div> <div> <B>Or you can mail us at:</B></div> <div> <B>The Compassionate Friends</B></div> <div> <B>c/o Calvary Lutheran Church</B></div> <div> <B>7520 Golden Valley Road</B></div> <div> <B>Minneapolis, MN 55427-4506</B></div> <div> <A HREF="minnapolis_compassionate_friends.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A warm welcome"><U><B><IMG SRC="1514a3e0.gif" border=0 width="74" height="62" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Minneapolis Chapter of The Compassionate Friends</B></FONT>     |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Minneapolis Chapter of The Compassionate"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> back to  <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Support Resources"><U><B>Support & Resources</B></U></A></div> <div> News Archive</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="519" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 30 WIDTH="509"><div> <B>Nation's Largest Bereaved Parent, Sibling Organization Recognizes 31 Compassionate Employers</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 15 WIDTH="509"><div> (from PR Web Press Release Newswire February 5, 2006)</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="519" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 915 WIDTH="509"><div> <I>In a nation where many companies fail in their duty to provide genuine, caring support when an employee has a child, sibling, or grandchild die, thirty-one businesses and organizations are being recognized by The Compassionate Friends in 2005 for doing just that. Recipients of Compassionate Employer Recognition, awarded annually, are acknowledged for going above and beyond the normal policies of most companies in helping their employees when the death of a child has occurred.</I></div> <div> Oakbrook, IL (PRWEB) February 28, 2005 -- In the face of apathy among many companies toward employees who have experienced the death of a child, sibling, or grandchild, thirty-one employers from across the United States have been recognized by the Board of Directors of The Compassionate Friends for showing extra sensitivity to bereaved employees. The Compassionate Friends is the nation's largest self-help bereavement organization with nearly 600 chapters covering all 50 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico.</div> <div>    </div> <div> Generally nominated by the persons they have directly helped, these employers are receiving the 2005 Compassionate Employer Recognition for going above and beyond the normal policies of most companies in helping their employees when the death of a child occurred.</div> <div>    </div> <div> The criteria for Compassionate Employer Recognition include, but are not limited to:</div> <div> •    Corporate policies that reflect a compassionate attitude toward bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents.</div> <div> •   Personal support extended by management team toward the bereaved employees following the child's death.</div> <div> •   Caring attitudes demonstrated by employer's entire workforce.</div> <div> •   Flexibility in work assignments and evaluation of job performance during the stress and personal pain associated with     the death of a child.</div> <div> •   All other acts of compassion that bereaved parents and siblings will forever remember.</div> <div>    </div> <div> Recipients of the 2005 Compassionate Employer Recognition are: Advanta Bank Corp., Spring House, PA; Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Allentown, PA; Animal Medical Center, Ellensburg, WA; Aronoff, Rosen & Hunt, Cincinnati, OH; Bechtel SAIC, Las Vegas, NV; Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility, Cañon City, CO; Cox Communications-Omaha, Omaha, NE; Creve Coeur Camera, St. Louis, MO; Derse Exhibits, Waukegan, IL; dice.com, Urbandale, IA; Emerson, Corey & Barsotti, Fresno, CA; Fukuji & Lum Physical Therapy Associates, Inc., Kailua, HI; HeartLove Place Ministries, Milwaukee, WI; Hendricks Regional Health, Danville, IN; Homefield Financial, Irvine, CA; Huff Elementary School, S.D.U-46, Elgin, IL; La Gondola Spaghetti House, Morton, IL; Lake Shore Cryotronics, Westerville, OH; Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL; New Hampshire Hospital, Concord, NH; Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Avondale, LA; Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, TN; Palms West Hospital, Loxahatchee, FL; Pepper Hamilton LLP, Philadelphia, PA; PIP Printing & Documenting Services-Greensboro, Greensboro, NC; Salem Central School District, Salem, NY; Sewickley Valley Hospital, Sewickley, PA; United Community Independence Programs, Meadville, PA; University of Arizona, Cognitive Science Program, Tucson, AZ; The Village, Hudson, IL; Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Grand Canyon, AZ. </div> <div>    </div> <div> This is the fifth year for recognition of employers, with recipients jumping from three the first year to the current 31 this year. </div> <bR> <div> “For most newly bereaved parents, grief is not limited to their homes. It accompanies them to their workplaces, their churches, and their communities,” said TCF Board President Patrick Malone. “How those places respond has a major impact on how well and how quickly bereaved parents are able to manage their grief. Employers play an important role in the positive resolution of grief and it is gratifying to see these examples in both the public and private sector responding with compassion and understanding.”</div> <bR> <div> The Compassionate Friends has a mission to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive. To contact The Compassionate Friends, call toll-free 877-969-0010 or visit the TCF national website at <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#157CD0" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.compassionatefriends.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.compassionatefriends.org"><U><U>www.compassionatefriends.org</U></U></A></FONT>. A nomination form for Compassionate Employer Recognition can be downloaded from the website.</div> <div> <B>Contact Information:  </B>Wayne Loder    THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS    866-964-4000</div> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> Information about the past summer National TCF conference which was held in Boston:</div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.tcfwalktoremember.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.tcfwalktoremember.org/"><U>http://www.tcfwalktoremember.org/</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.tcfcanada.net/events/conference.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.tcfcanada.net/events/conferen"><U>http://www.tcfcanada.net/events/conference.htm</U></A></div> <div> For details of the 5th International Gathering September 2009 in Buenos Aires, Argentina!</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.compassionatefriends.org/nat_regional_confs.shtml" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.compassionatefriends.org/nat_"><U><I><B><U>http://www.compassionatefriends.org/nat_regional_confs.shtml</U></B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I>the following excerpted from </I><I><B>Health Day online</B></I><I> linked from </I><I><B>"Grief in the News"</B></I><I> page on the </I><I><B>national site</B></I><I>.  To see other articles go to: </I><A HREF="http://www.compassionatefriends.org/grief_in_the_news.shtml" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.compassionatefriends.org/grie"><U><I>http://www.compassionatefriends.org/grief_in_the_news.shtml</I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I>Published at:</I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.healthday.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.healthday.com"><U><I>http://www.healthday.com</I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="546" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1271 ><NOBR><bR> <div> <B>Death of a Child Linked to Emotional Breakdown</B></div> <div> Study finds parents' loss increases chances of hospitalization </div> <div> <B>By Karen Pallarito</B></div> <div> <I><B>HealthDay Reporter</B></I> </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="626" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 1169 ><NOBR><bR> <div> WEDNESDAY, March 23 (HealthDay News) -- The devastating grief parents suffer </div> <div> when they lose a child increases their chances of being hospitalized for a psychiatric</div> <div> disorder, Danish researchers report.</div> <div> Bereaved mothers are particularly vulnerable, the study found. Their risk of hospitalization</div> <div> is twice as great as that of fathers. And while the mothers' risk is highest in the first year</div> <div> after a child's death risk, it remains significantly elevated even five years or more</div> <div> after the loss.</div> <div> "It was a surprise that increased hospitalization for mental disorders lasted for so many</div> <div> years after bereavement," said co-author Dr. Jorn Olsen, a professor of epidemiology</div> <div> at the University of Aarhus in Denmark and chairman of epidemiology at the University</div> <div>  of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Health.</div> <div> The findings appear in March 24 issue of the <I>New England Journal of Medicine</I>.</div> <div> Family therapist Gloria Horsley, who serves as a professional adviser to The </div> <div> Compassionate Friends (TCF), a national self-help group, fears the study may create</div> <div>  an inaccurate impression about the fate of bereaved parents.</div> <div> "We would not want professionals to think that the death of a child causes mental</div> <div>  illness," said Horsley, whose 17-year-old son Scott died in a fiery automobile </div> <div> accident in 1983.</div> <div> J. Shep Jeffreys, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at</div> <div>  Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, echoed that concern.</div> <div> "There are so many factors that affect the nature of the grief reaction when anybody</div> <div>  dies, but especially when a child dies," said Jeffreys, author of <I>Helping Grieving </I></div> <div> <I>People When Tears Are Not Enough: A Handbook for Care Providers</I>.</div> <div> For example, the study fails to compare the sudden, unexpected or violent death</div> <div>  of a child to a child's death after a long illness. It's also unclear how the Danish</div> <div>  findings may apply to parents in America, where the expression of feelings,</div> <div>  acceptance of psychiatric referrals and other cultural differences may have an</div> <div>  impact, he said.</div> <div> Yet despite these and other gaps, the study is interesting, Jeffreys said, because</div> <div>  there is so little research focused on the hospitalization of bereaved parents.</div> <div> "I think its value is that it does raise the alert that grief of people who have lost</div> <div>  children does have a serious impact," added Jeffreys, who lost his 8-year-old son</div> <div>  Steven in 1975 after a three-year battle with cancer.</div> <div> The new study is based on a group of more than 1 million people who were born</div> <div>  between 1952 and 1999 and had at least one child under the age of 18 during a </div> <div> nearly 30-year follow-up period, from 1970 to 1999. Parents were categorized as</div> <div>  "bereaved" from the date of their child's death.</div> <div> Overall, parents who lost a child had a 67 percent greater risk for a first psychiatric</div> <div>  hospitalization than parents who did not lose a child, the study found.</div> <div> Mothers' and fathers' risk of hospitalization was increased for each psychiatric</div> <div>  diagnosis included in the study, compared with parents who did not lose a child.</div> <div> But it was the bereaved mothers who were most at risk. Their likelihood of being </div> <div> hospitalized was twice as great as that of bereaved fathers, 78 percent vs. 38 percent,</div> <div>  the study found. </div> <div> That's not surprising, considering mothers tend to be the primary caregivers,</div> <div>  Horsley said. "They're the ones who had that constant connection with the </div> <div> child," she said. But with the child's passing, "they're kind of out of a job."</div> <div> The study authors admit a potential weakness: They were unable to adjust the findings</div> <div>  to allow for a family history of psychiatric illness. That lack of prior history makes it</div> <div>  impossible to know whether parents were vulnerable even before the death of a child.</div> <div> Losing a child can make people behave in ways that seem unusual, but it doesn't have</div> <div>  to lead to a breakdown, mental health experts said.</div> <div> "It's a time when you feel like you're losing control, or have lost control," said Horsley, </div> <div> who is coordinating a seminar designed to teach professionals in all fields how to</div> <div>  recognize grief and help bereaved families. The June 30 event will be held in conjunction</div> <div>  with The Compassionate Friends' annual conference in Boston.</div> <div> While the grief parents experience is lifelong, having people around to validate those</div> <div>  feelings is a comfort, she said. "You learn to come to a new normal."</div> <bR> <div> <B>More information</B></div> <div> <U>The Compassionate Friends</U><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > can tell you more about what happens to grieving families</FONT></div> <div>  when a child dies.</div> <bR> <div> SOURCES: Jorn Olsen, M.D., Ph.D., professor, epidemiology, University of Aarhus,</div> <div>  Denmark, and chairman, epidemiology, University of California, Los Angeles, School</div> <div>  of Public Health; Gloria Horsley, Ph.D., R.N., MFC, family therapist and author,</div> <div>  San Francisco, and professional adviser, The Compassionate Friends, Oak Brook, Ill.;</div> <div>  J. Shep Jeffreys, Ed.D., assistant professor, psychiatry and behavioral science,</div> <div>  Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and affiliate faculty, pastoral counseling,</div> <div>  Loyola College in Maryland, Baltimore; March 24, 2005, <I>New England Journal of Medicine</I> </div> <div> Last Updated: Mar-24-2005 </div> <div> Copyright © 2005 <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><U>ScoutNews LLC</U></FONT>. All rights reserved.</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="grace.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Missing GRACE "><U>GRACE Conference 2004 </U></A></div> <bR> <div> Attended the GRACE Conference in 2004.  At center stage was focus on OB/GYN, which is critical to minimizing personal tragedies.  Other topics were infant loss, healthy lifestyles, fertility, and adoption.  We as representatives of The Minneapolis TCF chapter are proud to have contributed to the success of this event, in benefiting patient care, lifestyle education, care of children, and helping parents.</div> <bR> <div> Chuck Campbell</div> <div> Minneapolis TCF</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Minneapolis Chapter of The Compassionate"><U>Home</U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>