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A text message is all that may be needed.
Jared Jerotz
September 13, 2024
In partnership with
Caregiving is hard, exhausting, thankless.
Meet Isabella
Isabella sat in the quiet of her small apartment, feeling the weight of the last two years on her shoulders. Her grandfather, Saul, had been her world during his long battle with dementia. As his only family, the responsibility of caring for him had fallen entirely on her. She’d taken on the task with love and dedication, but the relentless routine of caregiving had consumed her life, leaving little room for anything else. Her friends had drifted away, unable to relate to the demands she faced, and social gatherings became a distant memory.
Now, Saul was gone. His passing had left an emptiness in her heart, but also a strange new sense of freedom. For the first time in years, Isabella had time—time to think about her future, her goals, and her own well-being. Yet, she wasn’t sure where to begin. Rebuilding her life after two years of isolation felt daunting. How will she reconnect with friends? What would she even talk about?
Thoughts swirling, her phone pings to find a text message that brings solitude and clarity at the perfect moment.
She knew she needed to heal, but she also longed to step back into the world, rediscover her identity beyond caregiving, and reclaim the vibrant life she once had. Slowly, she began taking small steps—reaching out to old friends, joining community events, and reminding herself that it was okay to find joy again. As much as she missed her grandfather, Isabella realized that her own life was just beginning anew.
About Bereavement in the Hospice Industry:
There is no standard of care outlined by Medicare, so the delivery of care varies by hospice:
98% of hospices offer telephone calls
98% send a condolence card at the time of the death
95% send educational mailings about grief
88% provide community-based memorials
72% provide individual therapy/support
51% provide group therapy/support
Most hospices utilize a stepped-care approach; where general information and support are provided to all bereaved while counseling and referrals are offered to those with elevated risk
The data shows that only 1/3 of families and friends engage with bereavement services (Barry et al., 2012; Ghesquiere et al., 2019)
Meet Maria
Maria sat by the window, staring out at the soft morning light, lost in thought. Her mother had passed away only a few weeks ago, taken by cancer after a long, painful battle. The grief hit her in waves—some days it was a dull ache, and others, it felt like an overwhelming tide she couldn’t escape. Yet, through the sadness, Maria found an odd sense of comfort. She didn’t know where her mother was now—somewhere beyond this world, she hoped—but she believed she was at peace, free from the suffering that had marked her final days.
Grieving was turning out to be more complicated than she imagined. There were moments when she could smile at a memory of her mother, but others when the reality of her absence felt unbearable. Maria was slowly learning that it was okay to feel both; grief wasn’t something that followed a set pattern or timeline.
Her mother’s passing had changed her in unexpected ways. She had always feared death, the thought of losing someone close felt unbearable. But now, having gone through it, Maria understood that death was a part of life—painful, yes, but also natural. This was an experience she would carry with her forever, but one that was beginning to teach her acceptance.
She still missed her mother deeply, but she knew she would heal. In time, Maria would learn to live with her grief, holding her mother’s memory close while finding her way forward. Months later she still receives a text that brightens her day.
About Our Hospice Bereavement Research
86% retention rate over the 13-month program
95% of survey respondents rated the program as helpful (moderately and very helpful)
94% reported an increased sense of support in their grief
Highest satisfaction among seniors (65+) and male participants (hard-to-reach populations)
Texts are on demand, discreet, personalized, and provide ongoing weekly support
Help Texts delivers expert grief support directly to subscribers' phones, offering a convenient and accessible way to receive ongoing care. The program's success highlights the potential of digital interventions in grief support, especially in reaching demographics that may traditionally be underserved.
As hospices face the challenge of providing comprehensive bereavement care, Help Texts offers a promising solution. Its high retention and satisfaction rates suggest that text-based support can be an effective component of a holistic grief support strategy.
As we continue to innovate in healthcare, programs like Help Texts demonstrate the potential to make a significant impact on those navigating the difficult journey of caregiving and grief.
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Meet Julia
Every day felt heavier than the last. As a hospice nurse, Julia had dedicated herself to providing comfort and care to those in their final days, but recently, the demands of her job were taking a toll. The endless stream of patients, the emotional weight of their stories, and the pressure to be fully present for each one had worn her down. Between managing complex care needs, offering support to grieving families, sitting in traffic between visits, and completing mountains of documentation, Julia felt like she was running on fumes.
What once filled her with purpose now felt like a grind. She would sit in her car between appointments, staring at the steering wheel, trying to summon the energy to face the next task. It wasn’t that she didn’t care—she still did, deeply—but her capacity to show it was dwindling.
Then, her phone pinged with a notification. A message from the motivational text service her hospice had subscribed to months ago, almost as an afterthought.
She sighed, feeling the message sink in. It wasn’t a cure for her burnout, but it was enough for that moment. Julia took a deep breath, started the car, and reminded herself why she chose this work. She could push through today, and maybe that was enough for now.
Assist your families with text messaging when you are not immediately available, relieving stress and anxiety.
Meet Mark
The soft hum of medical equipment filled the dimly lit room as Mark sat beside his mother's bed. At 35, he never imagined he'd be here, watching over her in her final days.
It was past midnight when he noticed her breathing change. Each inhale became a struggle, a raspy sound that sent chills down his spine. Mark's heart raced as he fumbled for his phone, desperately trying to reach the on-call nurse. No answer.
Panic started to set in. What if something was seriously wrong? What if he couldn't help her? Just as his anxiety peaked, his phone buzzed with a text message. It was from the hospice's automated service – a lifeline he'd almost forgotten about.
The message contained clear, concise instructions for addressing labored breathing. With trembling hands, Mark adjusted the bed's position, elevating his mother's head slightly. He gently turned her onto her side, supporting her with a pillow as the text suggested.
Moments passed, each second stretching into eternity. Then, gradually, her breathing eased. The rasping faded, replaced by a more rhythmic, comfortable pattern. Mark exhaled, realizing he'd been holding his own breath.
As he sank back into his chair, a wave of relief washed over him. The simple text message had been a beacon in the darkness, guiding him through the storm of uncertainty. In this quiet moment, watching his mother's peaceful sleep, Mark felt a profound gratitude for the small mercies that made this difficult journey a little more bearable.
About Help Texts
Help Texts delivers expert, ongoing, grief and caregiver support via text message, tailored based on age, relationship, diagnosis, cause of death, time since death, and more.
With subscribers in 44 countries and all 50 US states, Help Texts has extensive experience working with hospices, tissue banks, and other healthcare providers to support family caregivers caring for a loved one with a terminal illness, as well as bereaved family members after a death.
Help Texts was the first in the world to publish data on grief-informed texting, with studies published in the OMEGA Journal of Death & Dying, as well as Death Studies, capturing the high acceptability (95%) & 6-month retention (90%) rates Help Texts receives from people grieving the death of a loved one.
This research suggests that text-based grief and caregiver support shows great potential as a public health intervention, delivering care straight to people’s phones when they are at increased risk for illness, depression, substance use, suicide, and all-cause mortality.
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