Interactive professional education to grow providers knowledge and skills in

palliative, end-of-life, and bereavement care

Dr. Julie A. Guistwite is the owner of Ripple of Light Bereavement Resource Center, LLC. She is an Advanced Certified Thanatologist and Pennsylvania Licensed Social Worker with 20 years of professional experience in nursing home, home health, hospice, and funeral home settings. Dr. Guistwite also holds over a decade of higher education expertise and six years of virtual professional development presenter experience. Teaching experiences include authoring a palliative care course, instructing palliative, end-of-life, older adult, health policy, and family offerings. She developed the social work profession’s first scale to evaluate and refine practitioners’ expertise in death, dying, and bereavement care. Dr. Guistwite’s areas of expertise include older adults, thanatology, palliative care, families in the final stages of the lifecycle, and healthcare equity. She is deeply passionate about the well-being of persons/families navigating the final stages of life or a death experience and growing providers’ skills.

Vision

Improving bereavement literacy and care through empowering education and consultation services.

Mission

Equipping professionals and organizations with the knowledge and skill to engage, empower, and enrich the well-being and quality of care among persons navigating a death experience. 

Values Statement

The core values of the Ripple of Light Bereavement Resource Center underscore the Center’s passion for equipping those encountering persons navigating the death of someone close with proper knowledge and skill to create engaging and impactful connections.

§  Lifelong relationships
§  Empathy and respect
§  Professional/organization-centered focus
§  Listening for understanding
§  Innovation and excellence
§  Interactive, hands-on learning
§  Continuous learning