Atrium Health Floyd Offers Mental Health Support
ROME, Ga., Dec. 9, 2024 – Grief is familiar to many people during the holidays, but recognizing that grief can help people find meaning and possibly deepen relationships with others around them.
“Wherever people are at in the journey of grief, they should keep in mind that there will be good days and there will be hard days," said Jason Jordan, chaplain at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center. “To integrate our loss takes time; it is not something that can be manufactured, but comes from living and relating authentically with ourselves and others."
Jordan offers some helpful tips for dealing with grief:
• Be gentle with yourself. Make sure to give yourself words of encouragement. Offer yourself kindness and understanding. Reflect on meaningful ways to show yourself kindness throughout your journey.
• Be compassionately curious. This postures us to meet our most difficult moments with our eyes and hearts open with a tone of sympathy and kindness. Being compassionately curious invites us to relate to ourselves the way we would a friend or loved one in need.
• Lean on your sources of hope. Our sources of hope can come from many different resources: our faith, personal relationships, hobbies and pets to name a few. Our sources of hope help nurture us with reminders we are valuable, deeply loved and not alone.
• Make time for meaningful moments. Making space for a meaningful ritual can aid in the social, emotional and spiritual healing after a loss. This can come in the form of moments of remembrance, writing letters, sharing stories, prayer or simply sitting in solitude. Support groups and grief therapists are also great resources to utilize for continued healing.
Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Heyman Hospice Care provides support for anyone who is experiencing loss and grief.
Bereavement care is typically offered to families soon after the death of their loved one and is also available earlier to help families cope with their upcoming loss.
The grief support team at hospice offers the following for all ages:
Call the office at 706-509-3200 to learn more about their services. Hospice also offers referrals and consultations for additional support when needed.
For those who feel they might need treatment to deal with grief and depression, Atr ium Health Floyd Medical Center Behavioral Health provides board-certified psychiatrists, nurses, social workers/discharge planners and t herapists who work together to address a full range of mental health conditions and behaviors, including grief and loss issues and depression.
Qualified mental health professionals are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. to provide confidential mental health screenings free of charge. Insurance will not be billed.
This screening is an important first step in determining the level of care a person might need. The goal is to determine if further assessment is needed to provide the right treatment in the best place to achieve an optimal outcome.
To receive free, confidential screening call 706-509-3500. If you need immediate mental health assistance call 1-800-418-2065.
About Atrium Health Floyd
The Atrium Health Floyd family of health care services is a leading medical provider and economic force in northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd is part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, created from the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health. Atrium Health Floyd strategically combined with Harbin Clinic in 2024 and employs more than 5,200 teammates who provide care in over 40 medical specialties at four facilities: Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center – a 361-bed full-service, acute care hospital and regional referral center in Rome, Georgia; Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center in Cedartown, Georgia; and Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center in Centre, Alabama; and Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Behavioral Health, also in Rome. Together, Atrium Health Floyd and Harbin Clinic provide primary care, specialty care and urgent care throughout northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd also operates a stand-alone emergency department in Chattooga County, the first such facility to be built from the ground-up in Georgia.
About Atrium Health
Atrium Health is a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atrium Health is part of Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, which was created from the combination with Advocate Aurora Health. A recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research, Wake Forest University School of Medicine is its academic core. Atrium Health is renowned for its top-ranked pediatric, cancer and heart care, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Atrium Health is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. Ranked nationally among U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals in eight pediatric specialties and for rehabilitation, Atrium Health has also received the American Hospital Association's Quest for Quality Prize and its 2021 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award, as well as the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care. With a commitment to every community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all, providing $2.8 billion last year in free and uncompensated care and other community benefits.
About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the United States – created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois, Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health services nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs 155,000 teammates across 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations, and offers one of the nation's largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to providing equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides nearly $6 billion in annual community benefits.