Parkland staff provides final honors for veterans
“For the veteran, thank you for bravely doing what you’re called to do so we can safely do what we’re free to do” – Author unknown
Those who serve in our military, serve for life. The bond remains strong during the transition from active service to veteran status. But while they may no longer don the uniform of their chosen branch, military veterans who pass away at Parkland Memorial Hospital are now being honored by a new program that pays final tribute to their sacrifice and service.
In collaboration with Parkland’s Pastoral Care department and Veteran’s Employee Resource Group (ERG), the Dallas County Hospital District (DCHD) Police Department will be notified when a known veteran passes away and will ensure they receive their final honors at the facility. More than 100 employees are members of Parkland’s Veteran’s ERG and have served in various branches of the military.
When granted permission from the veteran’s family, an overhead announcement is made: “May I have your attention please. Today, a veteran has passed away in our hospital.” The message continues with notice that a final honors ceremony with the family will be held in the hospital lobby. Staff is invited to attend in support of the family and to pay their respect to the veteran.
According to DCHD Police Captain Dan Birbeck, a U.S. Army veteran who championed the final honor’s program at Parkland, “This ceremony marking a veteran’s final passage through life is a meaningful salute not just to the family, but also to all of us who respect and honor those who serve our country.”
A flag-draped gurney with the flag of the military branch of the veteran centered below is used to transport the deceased to the lobby. There, DCHD police officers present the name, rank and military branch of the veteran who has passed away. In honor of his/her service to our country, the officer asks for a moment of silence and begins a flag folding ceremony.
As the stars and stripes of Old Glory are folded with military precision and the last edge tucked neatly into place, a DCHD police officer presents the flag to an awaiting family member and declares, “On behalf of the Parkland Memorial Hospital Staff and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one’s honorable and faithful service.”
“It’s as simple as this: how many tomorrows would have been lost if nobody had stepped forward to do something about it yesterday?” Birbeck said in reference to our nation’s veterans. “That’s why establishing this ceremony for veterans who are patients at Parkland has been my personal mission.”
Karla Voy-Hatter, Parkland’s Director of Infection Prevention and a U.S. Air Force veteran, recognizes the significance of the final honors program.
“Having a public ceremony to acknowledge the service to our country as well as the sacrifice made by our veterans and their families is incredibly important,” Voy-Hatter said. “We’re losing a lot of our older veterans. Every day we’re losing those who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.”
“We believe that honoring these patients in this way will bring comfort to their families and will remind all of us of the sacrifice that so many have made on our behalf,” said Linda Wilkerson, Director of Pastoral Care at Parkland.
Added Birbeck, “There is a famous quote that says, ‘A veteran is someone who, at one point in his/her life wrote a blank check made payable to ‘The United States of America’ for an amount of ‘up to and including my life.’ That is Honor.’”
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