Resource Center

Grief and death are on everyone’s mind. For most of us the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated death and collective grief is unprecedented. Combined with social distancing protocol, end-of life issues, death care, and grief have become even more complex.

Navigating these restrictions—and the sheer volume of loss—can feel overwhelming. How do you comfort a patient when their family can’t be present? Are you supposed to bring up advanced directives on intake or wait until the person is facing their death? If we can’t hold a traditional funeral, how do we mark someone’s passing?

The Virtual Funeral Collective banded together as part of a larger initiative called the Global COVID-19 Relief Coalition (http://gogcrc.org/). The Global COVID-19 Relief Coalition is a 501c3 project of The Giving Back Fund bringing together world leading labs and organizations to provide solutions for the current COVID-19 pandemic.

About The Organization: The Virtual Funeral Collective consists of a group of over seventy doctors, nurses, scholars, grief therapists, psychologists, funeral home directors, hospice workers, thanatologists, chaplains, hospital administrators and end-of lifepractitioners from around the globe, the Virtual Funeral Collective is a group of specialists who work with dying, death, and grief on a daily basis. We are uniquely situated to offer solutions, resources, and training to those dealing with dying, death, and disposition issues stemming from COVID-19. This White Paper contains a collection of resources and best practices from our collective to help you support your clients, patients, communities, and yourself during this stressful time.

Keywords: Funerals, COVID-19, Grief, Death, Loss, Interprofessional health, Chaplains, End-Of-Life Practitioners, Healing,