Caring Connections

05/28/2026

For years, Dr. Kathie Supiano has helped others carry the weight of grief—offering comfort, guidance, and compassion through life’s hardest moments.

Many of you knew Kathie as the former Director of Caring Connections, where her work touched countless lives and shaped how so many people experience healing after loss.

Today, Kathie is being honored through University of Utah Health’s Made Better By You: Red Chair Series, recognizing her legacy built on empathy, connection, and care—and celebrating someone who has given so much to others. We ❤️ you Kathie!

Most people spend their lives avoiding the feeling of grief. Kathie Supiano has spent her career walking directly toward it—and holding others as they navigate devastating loss and heartbreak. What does it feel like to finally sit down and listen as others celebrate your life’s work? To know tha...

05/05/2026

Coming together in remembrance can be a powerful step toward healing. 💛

Caring Connections Director Laura Bradbury was recently featured on an episode of PBS Utah Contact to explore how shared moments of reflection can help ease the burden of grief, create meaningful connection, and support a sense of strength for the road ahead.

Our annual Seeds of Remembrance event is just one week away.
This gathering is a welcoming space for anyone carrying loss, offering time to reflect, connect, and to find comfort in community. We will have live music by Paul Jacobsen and an uplifting message from featured speaker George Deussen.

🗓 Seeds of Remembrance
📍 University of Utah College of Social Work (Okazaki Community Room) or Online via Zoom
🕖 May 12 | 7–9 PM

A gathering that honors grief through music, reflection, and shared community.

04/28/2026

Grief can feel isolating—but you don’t have to go through it alone. 💛

Caring Connections Social Worker Taryn Hiatt visited ABC4 Good Things Utah this morning to share how our upcoming Seeds of Remembrance event offers a space for healing, connection, and hope.

This annual gathering is designed to help those grieving the loss of a family member or friend to come together, honor memories, and find support in community.

🗓 Seeds of Remembrance
📍 University of Utah College of Social Work (Okazaki Community Room) or Online via Zoom
🕖 May 12 | 7–9 PM

The event is free and open to anyone navigating loss or looking for additional support.

University of Utah College of Nursing Good Things Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (Good Things Utah) – If you are struggling with grief, there is help and hope at a free event for you. The University of Utah’s Caring Connections program is bringi…

04/03/2026

Caring Connections is proud to support NAMIWalks Utah on May 16, 2026 at Veterans Memorial Park in West Jordan, UT! 💙

It takes courage to admit you need help with your mental health; it’s pretty common knowledge by now. Statistics remind us that the average delay between symptoms’ onset and treatment is 11 years. That's far too long for anyone to wait, and it's why your support matters.

It also takes bravery to break out of your routine and step into the role of caregiver, or in the case of joining NAMIWalks 2026, becoming a hope-giver.

But it’s worth it. Ask anyone whose life has been made better through the services, programs, guidance, and education of NAMI, the beneficiary of the funds you raise.

Caring Connections is a grief program at the University of Utah College of Nursing. We offer grief support groups for those who’ve lost someone to su***de and substance use disorders. We believe in supporting grieving people and reducing stigma around su***de and substance use disorders.

Please consider joining our Caring Connections team or come out to the event and walk with us as we raise awareness and support for mental health in our community.

I'm supporting NAMI!

12/04/2025

For those of you in the Vernal, UT area who may be looking for some extra support for the holiday season...

Caring Connections Director Laura Bradbury will be presenting at "A Night of Remembrance" on Sunday, December 7 (6:30 pm) at the Uintah Conference Center. The evening is an opportunity for those in the community who have had a loss to come together in remembrance.

To RSVP: https://www.funeraldecisionscrm.com/Form2.aspx?Key=F7FCD061AF67023E6806C65A9D7789B8 or call 435-220-5395 with any additional questions.

11/13/2025

Grief and the Holidays is an opportunity for individuals to come together and cope with the loss of a family member or friend while keeping the memory of the person alive during the difficult holiday season.

This year, the program's theme was Navigating the Seasons of Change. We heard from Nicea DeGering, Host of ABC4 Good Things Utah. Nicea shared some of the ways she is caring for herself this year and this holiday season after losing her mother recently.

We also appreciated the tender and beautiful songs performed by Missy Lynn.

A recording of this year's program will be posted to the Caring Connections website soon.

University of Utah College of Nursing

10/23/2025

Please join us on Tuesday, November 11 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm for the 2025 Grief and the Holidays Program: Navigating the Seasons of Change.

This year's featured speaker is ABC4 Good Things Utah Co-Host Nicea DeGering, who will speak about navigating loss and life transitions, particularly during the holiday season. The program will also feature musical performances by Missy Lynn.

More information can be found at https://nursing.utah.edu/cc-events-presentations

University of Utah College of Nursing PBS Utah
https://video.pbsutah.org/video/navigating-the-seasons-of-change-with-caring-connections-rraue8/

Caring Connections offers support for grief during the holiday season.

05/20/2025

Thank you to those of us who were able to join in for Caring Connections annual Seeds of Remembrance event on May 6.

This year's theme was "Forging a New Path: a Way Forward in Grief"
Our featured speaker was Vickie Walker, founder of the nonprofit Circles of Comfort. The program also featured musical performances from Esera Mose.

04/28/2025

Caring Connections Social Worker Laura Bradbury was recently featured on PBS Utah - Contact to share some information about our upcoming community event on Tuesday, May 6.

Seeds of Remembrance is held every spring "to give people a little bit of a lift from the heaviness of their grief, while also reminding them that they are not alone."

RSVP here to receive additional information about this year's program: https://utahnursing.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_85MMpgOCGLiLA2y

https://video.pbsutah.org/video/community-nursing-services-caring-connections-seeds-of-remembrance-2025-ogzdab/
PBS Utah University of Utah College of Nursing

Each year Caring Connections hosts its Seeds of Remembrance event in May.

04/22/2025

Vickie Walker, our featured speaker for this year's Seeds of Remembrance Program on May 6, was featured in the Salt Lake Tribune this February: https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2025/02/12/voices-i-lost-my-husband-mass/

"When the dust settled, we realized that healing wasn’t about putting our lives back together, or re-creating what once was. That life, as we knew it, was gone. If we were going to heal, it was going to require forging a new path, one that honored Jeff’s memory and helped others find their way through darkness."

Please join us on Tuesday, May 6, as Vickie shares her story and more about how she continues to forge a new path through grief and healing. RSVP here to receive additional event details: https://utahnursing.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_85MMpgOCGLiLA2y

“We cannot bring Jeff back,” writes Vickie Walker, who lost her husband in 2007, in an op-ed. “But we can educate our communities. We can help others recognize trauma and extend compassion to those who are drowning in it.”