Bereavement Letter Set Up and Mail Merge – for Windows
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INDEX
- Bereavement Panel
- Bereavement Settings
- Special Occasions
- Define Grief Risk Levels
- Bereavement Contact Schedule
- Generating Report Listings
- Generating Letters
A. Bereavement Panel
Set up begins using the Admin Module:
Only workers with a role of Bereavement will have access to the Bereavement Panel on the Admin Module.
Within the Bereavement Panel, there are 5 options:
B. Bereavement Settings
Bereavement Settings will determine who is displayed on the bereavement listings and who will receive contacts. Primary Caregiver vs. All Caregivers. The last option allows the worker to add additional caregivers at the time of death.
Key Word Replacements (KWR) is a list of items used to personalize mailings.
C. Special Occasions
In this screen, Special Occasions (i.e. Memorial Invitations, Holiday letters, etc.) can be entered here.
Adding a Special Occasion: Spring Mailing.
Click plus sign (+) to add.
D. Define Grief Risk Levels
Defining grief risk levels allow your agency to set definitions for each of the ten grief risk levels available. The risk levels allow you to schedule activities in the contact schedule screen based on risk levels.
E. Bereavement Contact Schedule
This where All Contacts (mailings, phone calls, visits and special mailings) are created.
Select a month for a contact. This is equivalent to the month of Bereavement for the bereaved. -1 is selected for All Special Contacts (Occasions and Special Occasions).
Identify Type of Contact:
- Scheduled is for month letters/phone calls and visits.
- Occasions and Special Occasions will list individually.
Select Contact Sub Type:
- This is the means in which the bereaved will be contacted.
Select which program will be the recipients of the contacts (if you have more than one). Contacts will need to be created separately for all programs.
Select persons Grief Risk Level to receive contacts.
0-9 scale allows the agency to determine the numerical equivalent to No risk/Low risk/Moderate risk/High risk. This scale will also allow you to determine groups like Low Risk-Mailings only/No phone calls. Remember the grief risk level for each caregiver/bereaved is entered in the Patient Module/Caregiver Tab.
Example: The Hospice would like to send a Month 1 Letter to All Bereaved Risk Groups. When Creating the contact, select 0-9.
If the contact being created is a Phone Call or Visit, a Role must be assigned for this contact.
Enter Description of the contact.
Search for the contact and Add by clicking the plus sign (+).
After clicking the plus sign, a floating window will open.
If the contact is a Phone Call or Visit, nothing further will be required in the floating window. If the contact is a mailing, click on the Download button for the Letter Template to create a personalized letter using key word replacements. If the mailing is a preprinted “pamphlet”, and you just want labels, the select Download Label Template to create labels using the size of label preferred.
A ZIP file will drop to the bottom of your monitor for whichever Template was selected.
Clicking on the ZIP file at the bottom of the monitor, will cause your program finder/file explorer to open and the ZIP file will also be opened. Now you will see the ZIP file and the folder for the Letter or Label you are trying to create. Note the Name of the letter: M8Letter, refers to Month 8 Letter. GR1-3 refers to Grief Risk levels. Hospice indicates the mailing is for the Hospice program.
Click on the Letter Folder to open. There will be 2 documents. The Word document is the Template for the letter or label. The text document will contain the Key Word Replacements (KWR) used to personalize the letters/labels.
The letter template will open in a Word document. The date and inside address will be part of the template if desired.
Letters and labels for scheduled mailings, Occasions, and Special Occasions will need to be created only once.
All Word functions may be used to create/build the letters. If a letter is already saved electronically, it may be copied and pasted into the template as seen here. Note: The letter has generic verbiage, i.e. your loved one, they, their, etc.
At this point, Mail Merge will be used to create the letters using the Key Word Replacements.
Click Start Mail Merge. (If Mail Merge Wizard is available in the version of Microsoft you are using, that may provide additional assistance.)
If not, follow the steps here:
Select Letters or Labels.
To use KWR, click on Select Recipients and Use an Existing List.
Go to Downloads and find the applicable Letter or Label folder, click to open and select the Text document.
When the document opens, the screen will look like this. The KWR will be seen in the Preview box. Click OK at the bottom.
The tool bar will be expanded to include the functional icon Insert Merge Field. To personalize a letter, click the KWR to replace generic verbiage. Be sure to add the applicable spaces, commas and periods.
The highlighted area below demonstrates KWR replacing generic verbiage.
When you have completed the letter, click File -> Save.
Then File -> Close.
PIM Admin Console will still be open in the background. Click Upload for Letter or Label.
Go back to your computer downloads and find the Letter or Label you just created, and double click it.
A floating window will display that the Letter or Label Template was uploaded successfully.
Follow the steps above for all Scheduled, Occasion and Special Occasion Letters and Labels. Once completed, click on the Home Module to Generate Reports and Generate Letters.
Open the widget drawer to the right of the screen. Workers with a role of Bereavement will have access to the Bereavement Tracking Widget. Drag the Widget onto the dashboard. The Bereavement Widget will assist in Running Bereavement Reports and Printing Bereavement Mailings.
F. Generating Report Listings
Select type of Report:
- Schedule will Generate all Scheduled Letters Created in the Contact Schedule in the Admin Module.
- The individual Occasions and Special Occasions Assigned/Created in Contacts will display as well.
Select the Type of Contact or All for the report.
Select the Month/Year for the Report.
Select the Program or All for which the generated report will display Scheduled Contacts.
Select the IDG team or All for which the generated report will display Scheduled Contacts.
Select the Office or All for which the generated report will display Scheduled Contacts.
Then Click Generate Report. An excel report will open.
Report Listings will include patient and bereaved information as well as team care providers.
G. Generating Letters
Select the type of Letter. Schedule will provide all scheduled letters for the month/year selected. Select Individual Program, IDG Team and Office or All to generate the desired letters.
To Generate Occasion or Special Occasion Mailings/Letters, select the individual Mailing. This will trigger the need to enter a Date Range for which to generate the letters/mailings.
Select individual Program, IDG Team, and Office or All.
Click Download Letters. A ZIP file will drop to the bottom of the monitor.
Click on the ZIP file and the finder/file explorer will open to display the Mail Merge folder.
Click on the folder.
Within the Mail Merge folder is all the Scheduled Letters and Labels. There is a text file with the KWR for each Month.
Click on the Letter or Label to display.
Click on Mailings in the toolbar.
Click on Select Recipients and Use an Existing List.
The finder/file explorer will open.
Click on Downloads and find the Folder. Click on the text document with KWR associated with the individual month.
Click Finish & Merge for to preview the documents.
Example of how Mail Merge will complete the Letters/Labels.
