Essence of Life Hospice

01/01/2026

12/26/2025

Essence of Life Grief Support Group for 2026. It has been rewarding to see the support and growth through these grief experiences. This group is open to anyone with a recent or past loss.
Sessions start in February 2026.

12/26/2025

Merry Christmas from all of us at Essence of Life Hospice! We hope you find love and peace. 🎄🎁

12/22/2025

“The holidays are times spent with our loved ones.” This has been imprinted on our psyche from a young age. Holidays mark the passage of time in our lives. They are part of the milestones we share with each other, and they generally represent time spent with family. But since holidays are for being with those, we love the most, how on earth can anyone be expected to cope with them when a loved one has died? For many people, this is the hardest part of grieving when we miss our loved ones even more than usual. How can we celebrate togetherness when there is none?
When you lose someone special, your world lacks its celebratory qualities. Holidays magnify that loss. The sadness deepens and the loneliness can feel isolated. The need for support may be the greatest during the holidays. Pretending you don’t hurt and/or it isn’t a harder time of the year is just not the truth for you. But you can – and will – get through the holidays. Rather than avoiding the feelings of grief, lean into them. It is not the grief you want to avoid; it is the pain. No one can take that pain away, but grief is not just pain; grief is love.
Ways to externalize the loss – give it a time and a place
A prayer before the Holiday dinner, about your loved one.
Light a candle for your loved one.
Create an online tribute for them.
Share a favorite story about your loved one.
Have everyone tell a funny story about your loved one.
At your place of worship remember them in prayer.
Chat online about them.
Do’s and Don’ts
Do be gentle with yourself and protect yourself.
Don’t do more than you want, and don’t do anything that does not serve your soul and your loss.
Do allow time for the feelings.
Don’t keep feelings bottled up. If you have 500 tears to cry don’t stop at 250.
Do allow others to help. We all need help at certain times in our lives.
Don’t ask if you can help or should help a friend in grief. Just help. Find ways; invite them to group events or just out for coffee.
Do, in grief, pay extra attention to the children. Children are too often the forgotten grievers.
Just Remember
Holidays are clearly some of the roughest terrains we navigate after a loss. Finding meaning in the loss is as individual as we are. We often say a part of us died with them, but finding meaning is also realizing a part of them still lives within us. What is vitally important is that we be present for the loss in whatever form the holidays do or don’t take. These holidays are part of the grieving journey that we must fully feel. They are usually very sad, but sometimes we may catch ourselves doing okay, and we may even have a brief moment of laughter. Now more than ever, be gentle with yourself. Don’t do more than you want, and don’t do anything that does not serve your soul, your loss, or the meaning that still lives within you.

Source – David Kessler @ grief.com Love Never Dies

12/22/2025

There is still time to visit, to support the Bird The Bird House - Hospice Home of Johnson County through Holiday Lights at the Lake!

12/22/2025

We had a great time supporting
Holiday Lights at the Lake!

12/05/2025

Grief Awareness Week

"At the very heart of grief lies an irreducible mystery. I have come to discover that grief is a dimension of life experience that cannot be approached through rational thought. Instead, it responds more appropriately to humbled souls. In this spirit, I invite you to open your heart."
—Dr. Alan D. Wolfelt

National Grief Awareness Week (the first week in December) allows us to advocate for those in grief. We can all work together to be advocates and teach others that the bereaved need the love and support of caring companions. To be "bereaved" in part means "to have special needs." This day allows us to highlight some of the special needs of those grieving and help create safe places where we are safe to openly and authentically mourn.

Companioning the bereaved is not about assessing, analyzing, fixing or resolving another's grief. Instead, it is about being totally present to the mourner, even being a temporary guardian of his or her soul. The companioning philosophy empathizes with the human need to mourn authentically without any sense of shame. The companioning model understands the normalcy of drowning in your grief before you tread water, and that only after treading water do you go on to swim. The companioning model helps the caregiver acknowledge the responsibility for creating conditions that allow the grieving person to embrace the wilderness of grief.

Learn more about Companioning in this video with Dr. Wolfelt.

12/03/2025

Congratuations to our Volunteer Greg Irvin who was honored at the State Hospice and Palliative Care Association of Iowa event this week.

Greg is a cheerful and caring volunteer who has been very active in his first year of service. He is eager to make meaningful connections with each volunteer visit and keep us up to date in the office. Greg helps us laugh and embraces each day to help one another out. His woodworking skills have impacted our organization by the bench outside our office. We appreaciate his service to Essence.

12/03/2025

Congratuations to our Volunteer Cindy Slaymaker who was honored at the State Hospice and Palliative Care Association of Iowa event this week.

Cindy is a calm presence in the sometimes chaos of situations. She has been able to support various patients in time of trouble and distress to help bring a smile if even for a moment. She navigates office support tasks with ease and ehlps keep us moving forward on the weekly taks and new projects. Cindy always has a hug for you when you need it most! Thank you for your support to Essence!