As the COVID-19 pandemic reached its peak in 2020 and in-person gatherings were canceled, many families struggled with how to commemorate everything from birthdays and graduations, to anniversaries and the passing of their loved ones.

Atrium Health Navicent Hospice Pine Pointe faced a similar dilemma when visits to patients were restricted, support groups were canceled and the biannual celebration of life services no longer happened. In an effort to reach grieving families in fall 2020, Pine Pointe sent those who’d lost a hospice patient in the previous six months a hand-painted dove ornament and a holiday card.

“Honestly, this was one of the good things that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic. We tried to adapt to provide comfort to family members after their loved one’s death. That’s when this program came together,” said George Kevin Moore, bereavement coordinator and chaplain at Pine Pointe.

What started with about 150 ornaments has now grown to more than 1,800, all painted and glittered by Moore and a group of volunteers.

The ornaments are one example of ongoing bereavement care for families and caregivers, which is a big part of Pine Pointe’s mission.

“Caregivers are under a tremendous strain and burden of what they have to carry. After the death of a loved one, that’s when they need the most care because sometimes all they have known for the last year or two is caregiving, and that routine has now stopped. We help transition from condolence to remembrance in a positive way. That’s what the ornament does; it reminds caregivers not only of the death, but the life they lived while they were here,” Moore said.

Beginning in January, other in-person services, such as support groups for families and caregivers, will resume at Pine Pointe.

Pine Pointe opened in 1982. The first hospice organization to serve central Georgia, Pine Pointe remains the only not-for profit hospice located in Macon-Bibb County. If you know of someone who may benefit from hospice services, call 478- 633-5678.