Doctor On Call: Grief Support for Children and Families Amid COVID-19

For parents of small children, managing the anxiety from the COVID-19 outbreak and prolonged isolation is challenging enough. For families who are already grieving for other reasons, such as family loss, the importance of managing that anxiety can be heightened.

This segment of TriHealth’s Doctor on Call features Victoria Ott, executive director of Fernside, an affiliate of Hospice of Cincinnati, which provides grief support services to children and their families, as well as outreach and education on resources for grief relief. She explains why helping children cope with anxiety can be a challenge during isolation and provides some tips on how to do so. She also gives information about Fernside services such as Fernside Curbside for children and telephone-hosted support groups for adults, which are continuing Fernside’s mission while maintaining social distancing. You can follow Fernside's Facebook page for more information about these programs.

Note: This segment was recorded and broadcasted live via video conferencing and there were technical difficulties at the beginning. It’s being shared unedited to retain all information and to demonstrate that we and our partners at WCPO are taking precautions to protect the community while still providing relevant information. Thank you for your patience.

Doctor on Call is a segment in partnership with WCPO-TV featuring TriHealth physicians answering medical questions submitted by viewers to WCPO. You can submit a question here.