Our Commitment to Serving Veterans and All Military in the Communities We Serve
Over 120,000 Veterans are in our community, and one in four deaths each day is a Veteran. The Valor Hospice Care team believes it is important to understand the unique needs of Veterans and provide them with the best care possible. The "We Honor Veterans" program for recognizes those who have provided great valor, by allowing us to serve them with great care.
Veterans and Valor
Due to our proximity to the Ft. Huachuca military base, the Sierra Vista branch of Valor HospiceCare serves a particularly high number of Veterans. Since 2019, our staff and volunteers have conducted over 30 “Veteran pinning ceremonies” honoring local Veterans on hospice with a “US Flag Veteran” lapel pin, a “Gold Star” lapel pin, a Certificate of Appreciation, and a final salute by a local cadet or veteran. Ceremonies also include a song, reading of patients’ service history to our country and a prayer.
In January 2020, we held a pinning ceremony for a patient with a distinguished 28-year military history as an officer in the US Army. Shortly after our patient passed away, his son stopped by the office to proudly present us with a photo of his dad at his pinning ceremony, expressing gratitude that the photo was “the last good picture I got of Dad” and that the ceremony was “the last really good moment for Dad” before he passed a few days later. Valor was honored to be part of that precious moment for one of our country’s heroes.
Level IV Partnership
Valor HospiceCare is a Level 4 Partner in the “We Honor Veterans” program. We Honor Veterans is a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Through the program, community hospice providers learn how recognize the unique needs of veterans and their families to accompany and guide them through their life stories toward a more peaceful ending.
The “We Honor Veterans” program includes training for hospice staff, volunteers, and the community-at-large about some of the specific issues veterans on hospice may be facing. As hospices complete more veteran-oriented training and service tasks, they can “level up” (Level 4 being a high distinction.) The website (https://www.wehonorveterans.org/) explains:
“America’s Veterans have done everything asked of them in their mission to serve our country and it is never too late to give them a hero’s welcome home. Hospice staff may provide the last opportunity for Veterans to feel that their service was not in vain, and that they are appreciated. Simple acts of gratitude at the end-of-life can make up for a lack of appreciation or recognition during the Veteran’s lifetime, especially for those Veterans who were never welcomed home or thanked for their service.”
We are here to assist you with the transitions of life.
We are here to answer questions about life changes, level of care decisions
and to help with ease of transitions.