LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Delaware Hospice reaching out to local veterans

Most of us may not realize that one out of every four dying Americans is a veteran. That is 1,800 people a day and more than 680,000 veterans every year! Hospice care’s focus is to provide comfort and support at the end of life. This philosophy of care focuses on improving quality of life for patients with life-limiting illnesses and their families. Our veterans truly deserve the many benefits of hospice care. As hospice care providers, Delaware Hospice wants to ensure that we are meeting the needs of this heroic population. Our goal is to make certain our veterans and their families receive the profound benefit of hospice care that is tailored to their unique needs which allows for a peaceful and enriched end of life experience. As part of our “We Honor Veterans Program,” Delaware Hospice is reaching out to our veteran population to understand and recognize their unique needs. We are working to help veterans through the challenges they may face from illness, isolation, or traumatic life experience. If you are or know of a veteran, please consider learning more about the program. Our goal is to increase access to and improve the quality of care Veterans receive throughout our service area. We can never repay our heroes for what they have given each and every one of us, but we can do our best to ensure we care for them when they need us most. Just as they have been there for all of us, we want to let them know we’re here for them. The “We Honor Veterans Program” is a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It provides educational tools and resources to organizations that advance the goal of serving veterans’ end of life needs. The program increases access to veteran-centric educational activities for health care providers and improves quality for care for more than 1,000 hospice organization across the country. To learn more about the “We Honor Veterans Program” at Delaware Hospice, please call us at 1-800-838-9800.

Moyra A. Molina, RN Delaware Hospice Center Retired United States Air Force, 1980-1992, 1995-2008 Master Sergeant, USAFR Magnolia