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Centra Hospice volunteer and veteran, Tom Crouse, and Hospice Volunteer Coordinator, Robin McLane, recently shared information on the We Honor Veterans program at the Thursday, June 2, meeting of the Farmville Veterans of Foreign War (VFW). VFW Commander, Dean Lord, opened the meeting and welcomed the speakers. The We Honor Veterans program involves honoring our veterans with a Veteran pinning and certificate. Tom Crouse has recently participated in several of these pinnings and shared his personal experience of interacting with hospice patients who served our country. He shared how meaningful it has been to see patients being honored and sharing their military stories.

We Honor Veterans is part of an initiative from the Department of Veteran Affairs that is an outreach of the national Hospice-Veteran Partnership. The mission of this partnership is to provide quality care to our veterans and their families through end of life. Hospice gives patients a chance to have as much control as possible over their end of life care by providing resources, support and information so patients can make informed decisions. Another goal of this partnership is to educate community agencies about veteran issues and benefits, such as advance care planning and resources.

The VFW also supports all veterans and provides a way for them to communicate with each other. They can direct veterans to the proper agencies to get benefits. Their veterans also perform community service projects which include helping youth, churches, schools, hospitals and law enforcement. The Farmville VFW is always looking for new members and meets the first Thursday of each month at 1616 Graham Road. For more information, visit VFW.org.

If you would like more information on the We Honor Veterans program or would like to become a hospice volunteer, please contact Robin McLane at (434)-315-5052 or robin.mclane@centrahealth.com.