Together at Peace Supports Providers and Staff in Difficult Times

Amid the ongoing challenges our frontline healthcare providers and staff face, the Together at Peace Foundation has provided a generous donation to support the wellbeing of our care teams. The funds donated have already made an incredible impact, speaking directly to Essentia’s core value of compassionate care and the many ways our chaplains meet the needs of our healthcare providers.

“The Together at Peace Foundation is innovative in supporting many communities around the country, and their creative vision of hosting memory mile events as a form of bereavement support inspired us,” says Stacey Jutila, Director of Chaplaincy Services at Essentia Health. “So back in 2021, we gathered families and healthcare teams who had navigated the pandemic to share stories and walk miles together.”

This initial event started the partnership with Together at Peace, including generous funding to benefit bereavement support programs. The funding has not only supported our care teams over the past three years, but also the children and adults receiving care at Essentia Health.

Together at Peace has equipped our chaplaincy team with stuffed bears to gift to children who are grieving as well as peace stones to provide comfort to both providers and patients. Both adult and pediatric patients who participate in grief support groups or individual therapy receive items donated by Together at Peace, such as blankets and journals.

The Grief Support Center at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth – established 40 years ago – was the first hospital-based grief support center in the United States, making it the perfect place to pilot Essentia’s Together at Peace program. Staff are already looking at ways to expand the program to additional hospitals in our system because of its successful impact.

Recently, funding from Together at Peace made it possible for a medical care team at St. Mary’s Medical Center to honor a fellow provider who was entering hospice care. The team was guided through the process of creating a mosaic art piece as a way of navigating the grieving process together through the healing expression of art.

“Together at Peace funding has also supported the launch of a mobile support resource known as a Code Lavender cart,” Stacey says. “Like the calming aroma of lavender, this cart is full of gentle and loving support, so when a team has had a hard day or their hearts are heavy, they can request the cart for their team.”

The Code Lavendar carts include a variety of comfort items, whether it be coloring pages and pencils, tea and chocolate, or spiritual and mindfulness resources.

“The carts serve as a visual reminder that we care for one another, and it helps us find things that will give us strength, support and sustenance to continue offering compassion and care,” Stacey says.

Together at Peace, based out of Hinsdale, Illinois, was founded by Christine Marzullo to support hopeful bereavement care, helping those who have lost a loved one find peace.

“The idea for Together at Peace started after my dad passed away in 2004. I had young kids at the time, and I was trying to find a way to remember his spirit and keep his love alive,” says Christine, who partnered with friend Brittany Jelinek to get the charity started. “We are a community where individuals can connect, honor their loved ones in tangible ways, and draw from the boundless creativity of the world around us.”

Now, Together at Peace not only supports hospitals, hospice centers, and other organizations with their bereavement care programs, but they also inspire new ways for those grieving to live with, honor and share stories after loved ones have passed away.

“From philanthropic programs to community gatherings, we harness the power of creativity to do good in honor of those we’ve lost, creating a ripple effect of compassion and connection that stretches far beyond our own experiences,” Christine says. “We inspire hope in the every day after a loved one passes away – for you, for them, for us. We are in this together. We are Together at Peace.”