Remembering Our Veterans With Compassion

Saturday, November 11 marks Veterans Day 2023, a national holiday that was created to honor the men and women who have proudly served in the U.S. armed forces.

In 2022, there were 16.2 million veterans in the United States.

We place a great emphasis on veterans services here at Pathways in Santa Clara and elsewhere, as we continue to recognize the sacrifices made by these brave souls who died for our country. Thus, we take great strides to ensure our still-living veterans are treated with care, respect, compassion, and dignity.

In fact, we have medical social workers on staff who are trained in the unique needs of veterans and can connect them with valuable community resources and organizations that can best meet their needs. We can help determine eligibility for specialized VA services, for example, as we join forces with local VA facilities to coordinate appropriate care to address anything from PTSD to traumatic injuries.

Kids and younger adults may equate Veterans Day with no school or a day off work, but we appreciate that it’s about so much more. This time of somber reflection is, for many veterans and their families, a tradition on this day of commemoration. Pathways is proud to be a We Honor Veterans hospice partner because we understand the sacrifices our veterans made for this country, making the very best home health care, palliative care, and hospice care levels available to them.

Compassionate Remembrance by Professional Caregivers

Our home health care staff features professionals well-versed in providing invaluable services to veterans, such as:

• Social workers: These professionals can advise on resource planning, assist with long-term care arrangements, and provide short-term counseling (if there is a diagnosis of PTSD or other mental health issue)
• Home health aides: They can help out with personal care tasks such as bathing and dressing for people with limited physical abilities.
• Nurses: They offer hands-on care while educating the veterans about their condition and treatment. They can also regularly evaluate them, perform assessments, and report them to the physician, and address pain with medication.
• Physical and occupational therapists: They provide therapy for musculoskeletal injuries and pain as part of the total rehabilitation plan.

Compassionate Remembrance by Family Caregivers

We recognize that family caregivers and friends can also play a valuable role in providing compassionate care to veterans. Check out these tips on how you can honor their service alongside them this Veteran’s Day.

1. Raise a Flag. There are certain Veterans Day flag etiquette guidelines to follow, which you can find here.
2. Form a Veterans Story Circle. If your loved one is in a hospice facility, visit with your veteran loved one and others throughout the facility. Do your part to encourage them to share stories and reminisce about their time in the service. To keep everyone focused, choose a topic, such as the day they found out they were drafted or the day they got home from service. Be sensitive to those who don’t want to talk about their experience or who have trouble recalling.
3. Check Out a Parade. Attend a local Veterans Day parade on Saturday the 11th, or better yet, participate in one. Your whole family will enjoy the floats, ceremonies, music, and flags.
4. Craft Paper Poppy Boutonnieres & Corsages. Get the grandkids or even great-grandkids involved in this one. This is a wonderful yet simple craft project you can do with your senior loved one. Making paper poppies as boutonnieres for the guys and paper corsages for the gals is a great way to commemorate this important holiday.
5. Make Thank You Cards. Gather the grandkids and create thank-you cards for veterans using construction paper, markers, and stickers.
6. Visit a Cemetery: Head to your local cemetery to honor a specific fallen hero, where you can lay flowers and flags on veterans’ graves. Not sure where to go? Here’s a list of national cemeteries that have designated veteran areas: VA National Cemeteries.
7. Organize a Care-Package Party. Put together care packages for troops overseas and send them out.
8. Observe a Moment of Silence: Take time out to engage in a moment of silence at 3:11 p.m. to reflect on veterans’ services and sacrifices.
9. Visit a VA Hospital: Bake cookies or make cards with the kids, then visit a local VA hospital to hand deliver them.
10. Volunteer: Volunteer your time, money, or spare clothing to show your true appreciation of veterans. Check local senior centers, VA hospitals, and other places where you could give your time.
11. Go on a Virtual White House Tour: Don’t live close to the White House? No worries. You can actually take a virtual tour of this iconic landmark.
12. Shop Veteran-Owned Businesses: Buy local and browse these veteran-owned shops on Veterans Day.
13. Spend Quality Time Together: Visit your veteran loved one in the nursing home or hospice facility. Play their favorite tunes, reminisce about growing up, and just sit and enjoy being in each other’s company.

Contact Pathways Home Health and Hospice

Interested in learning more about how Pathways cares for veterans? Want to know more information on our We Honor Veterans team? Please contact us at 888-978-1306.