Martin Health Initiates Program to Honor Departed Nurses

Funeral services for members of a police force, a fire department or the military often include the presence of an honor guard that helps pay final tribute. Beth Eaton, MBA, LBC, CPHQ, Senior Continuous Improvement Specialist at Cleveland Clinic Martin Health in Florida, believes that dedicated nurses who have died deserve the same. Eaton and colleagues at Martin have launched a Nursing Honor Guard to make that happen.

“The presence of the Honor Guard is one way to honor the life of the nurse,” Eaton says. “What the Nursing Honor Guard can provide is their presence at calling hours and services, to pay respect for the dedication and nursing professionalism that the departed person has invested during their life.”

Volunteer Honor Guards have developed among nursing groups throughout the country to offer services to surviving loved ones. Guard members attend end-of-life ceremonies in white uniforms, traditional nurse caps and capes. During calling hours, they stand watch by the casket, and perform a brief ceremony that involves the lighting of the Nightingale lantern, symbolizing the tradition of selfless service begun by Florence Nightingale. A recitation of the Nightingale tribute acknowledges the many contributions the nurse made, in part:

When a calming, quiet presence was all that was needed,
(nurse’s name) was there.
In the excitement and miracle of birth or in the mystery
and loss of life, (nurse) was there.

At the end of the recitation, the guard officially sounds a chime and relieves the nurse of duty. A white rose may be laid on the casket or next to the urn.

Honoring the needs of surviving loved ones

The Honor Guards work with family members to determine what level of involvement they will have in end-of-life ceremonies. Eaton became interested in starting Martin’s Nursing Honor Guard in 2020 and quickly amassed a list of about 60 volunteers. The COVID-19 pandemic hindered the startup, although auxiliary volunteers, who were not allowed in the hospital because of the pandemic, continued their service to the hospital by sewing 10 traditional Victorian capes that guard members will wear during the ceremony. “I can’t tell you how much love and care went into the making of the capes,” Eaton says.

The group is working with regional funeral directors to help alert families to their service and availability. The deceased need not have worked at Martin for the guard to be present. “The ceremony is simple, but the presence of the Nursing Honor Guard is so moving,” Eaton says. “Nursing is more than a job, it’s a calling and a way of life. We are used to being there for each other at work, and I can’t think of anything more meaningful than being there to officially recognize the nurse at the end of life.”