At the end of April, Tucson’s Casa de la Luz Hospice was recognized for attaining a Level Four partnership in the national We Honor Veterans program.
The We Honor Veterans designation allows veteran service members and other community residents to easily identify organizations that have made a formal commitment to offer veteran-specific care, and Level Four is the highest rung of a progression of increased services for veterans who are nearing the end of their life.
Using resources designed by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), partner organizations assess their ability to serve veterans’ unique needs and learn to guide vets and their families toward a more peaceful ending. The program teaches respectful inquiry, compassionate listening, and grateful acknowledgement to comfort patients with a history of military service and possibly physical or psychological trauma.
Co-chair of the Hospice Veteran Partnership of Southern Arizona and Casa’s We Honor Veterans delegate Meredith Ford, said, “Recognizing that a veteran’s military service could impact their end-of-life experience is what inspired us to engage with the We Honor Veterans project. As Level Four partners, our advanced training and incorporation of best practices as suggested by NHPCO and the VA will enable Casa de la Luz Hospice to provide superior, veteran-centric care to our community.”
Casa de la Luz Hospice
About Casa de la Luz Hospice
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of our founding this year, Casa de la Luz Hospice was established in 1998 to provide superior care and support for patients and their loved ones at the end of life. Lynette Jaramillo, and Agnes C. Poore, local Tucson women, created Casa with three primary goals in mind: To deliver comfort care far beyond what most organizations were offering; to bring together a group of employees and volunteers united by a common set of values and a strong work ethic; and to build an organization that offered financial security and ongoing professional growth to those employees and volunteers. This mission, vision and values statement continue to guide the organization, and Lynette and Agnes remain at the helm.