Newport News, Va. (June 4, 2007) – Beth Pile, the bereavement coordinator for Bon Secours Hospice, has been named to the 2007 Virginia Hospice Dream Team by the Virginia Association for Hospices. The Dream Team represents the state’s top providers in each discipline of hospice care, from nurses to social workers to chaplains.

“This is really a very special honor and I was thrilled,” said Pile, who was nominated by a nurse she has worked with. Pile also said she was very surprised when her name was announced as part of the Dream Team at the association’s annual conference early in May.

Pile has worked for Bon Secours for 19 years, beginning her career as a medical social worker with Mary Immaculate Hospital, where she provided hospice support and bereavement services as part of her duties. She later joined Bon Secours Hospice program fulltime.
Because of her passion for working with children, Pile volunteered with Edmarc Hospice for Children. At the time, Edmarc did not offer grief support groups for children on the peninsula, but Pile said she believed a need existed. She started a pilot Kidz’NGrief program about seven years ago, which was modeled after the nationally-recognized Dougy Center that supports children grieving the loss of a family member.

Today, Kidz’NGrief offers eight support groups, for children ages 3 to 18 and their families. Groups are facilitated by volunteers that Pile recruits and trains. “I’m very blessed to have the quality of people and their commitment to working with our families,” Pile said. “Not all of these are hospice families. We also have children who have lost someone to other illnesses, suicide, murder, accidents and even war.”

An outgrowth of Kidz’NGrief is Mikey’s Camp, which Pile started a few years ago. This is an annual weekend camp that provides a different experience than the support groups. Each camper, who ranges in age from 7 to 17, is assigned a “big buddy,” who provides one-on-one support and friendship over the weekend. Campers participate in traditional camping activities as well as “healing circles,” which are support groups activities. The camp is named for Pile’s dog, a Bernese Mountain Dog that is a trained therapy dog. “Mikey comes to all of our meetings and to camp, and everybody just loves him,” Pile said.