Perinatal Bereavement Coordinator - IMFH - Fetal Care Center

Nemours Children's Health•Wilmington, DE

12d

About The Position

Within the Institute for Maternal Fetal Health (IMFH), the Nemours Fetal Care Center (NFCC) and Advanced Delivery Unit are expanding their scope of service to include comprehensive prenatal, obstetrical, and postpartum care for women whose unborn child has been diagnosed with a birth defect or complex medical condition requiring immediate multidisciplinary pediatric care in the neonatal period. The IMFH Psychosocial Support Program is being built to support mental health and wellness in expectant parents and families facing significant risk of trauma, mood disorders, and challenges in coping with ongoing stress due to a fetal diagnosis. The IMFH Perinatal Bereavement Coordinator is a key member of this program, serving in both the outpatient Fetal Care Center (FCC) and inpatient Advanced Delivery Unit (ADU). This role is primarily responsible for supporting the development, implementation, coordination, and ongoing enhancement of perinatal bereavement services for families experiencing or anticipating perinatal loss. Working in collaboration with program leadership and interdisciplinary care teams, this role provides advanced support to bereaved families and helps ensure the delivery of compassionate, family-centered care. Responsibilities include providing emotional support, coordinating memory-making activities, maintaining bereavement resources, developing and maintaining community partnerships, and contributing to initiatives that strengthen and expand bereavement services within IMFH. Additionally, this position supports staff caring for bereaved families through peer-to-peer education and staff support services. Furthermore, this role serves as a Certified Child Life Specialist for siblings and other children visiting the Fetal Care Center (FCC) and Advanced Delivery Unit (ADU), providing developmentally appropriate assessment, education, and coping support. Additional responsibilities include supporting perinatal bereavement and/or child life education through precepting experiences and supervision of volunteers and learners.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required
Certified Child Life Specialist and/or Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist required
3 years full-time work experience required

Nice To Haves

Perinatal Bereavement and Grief Certification
Perinatal Mental Health Certification (PMH-C) preferred

Responsibilities

Provides advanced bereavement coordination, psychosocial support, and resource navigation for families experiencing or anticipating perinatal loss across prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum settings in both the inpatient and outpatient spaces.
Supports the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of innovative perinatal bereavement services in collaboration with program leadership and interdisciplinary team members.
Collaborates with the Psychosocial Support team to provide comprehensive psychosocial support for expectant families facing a life-limiting fetal diagnosis or perinatal loss, serving as the primary resource for anticipatory grief support, bereavement education, memory making, legacy-building activities, emotional support, and guidance throughout the perinatal loss journey.
Coordinates and facilitates family-centered memory-making activities, legacy-building opportunities, and bereavement interventions for families affected by loss or life-limiting fetal and neonatal diagnoses.
Supports staff through peer-to-peer education, competency development, and debriefing related to perinatal loss, bereavement care, and compassionate communication.
Partners with internal departments and community organizations to enhance bereavement resources, ensure continuity of care, and promote fiscally responsible stewardship of bereavement program resources.
Demonstrates high competence in Child Life philosophy and practice in accordance with the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP) standards and departmental mission.
Provides developmentally appropriate assessment, education, preparation, and coping support for children visiting the Fetal Care Center and Advanced Delivery Unit.
Delivers evidence-based Child Life interventions that promote healthy coping, emotional expression, and adaptation in the setting of parental/familial hospitalization, complex fetal diagnoses, and perinatal loss.
Actively participate in interdisciplinary planning and patient care meetings, including (but not limited to) IMFH fetal list reviews and Psychosocial Support Program rounds, meetings, trainings, and quality initiatives as assigned.
Maintain accurate, timely, and compliant documentation within the patient’s medical record and in all required research-related documentation, in accordance with IMFH standards.
Respond accurately and promptly to all communications (e.g., email, secure chat, phone, text) related to IMFH operations and patient care, in alignment with hospital policies and standards.
May facilitate patient/caregiver peer-support groups or other group-based educational programming with leadership approval.
Establish and maintain effective working relationships across disciplines. Assist in facilitating recommendations resultant of team meetings.