Cornerstone SALUTES!

There are more than 50,000 veterans in this country who die each month. The number accounts for 28% of all deaths in the United States.  Eighty-five percent of veterans do not receive care through the VA healthcare system.  Most veterans die in the community in which they live.

Since 1984, Cornerstone Hospice and Palliative Care has provided care and services to American veterans experiencing life limiting illnesses.  Now Cornerstone Hospice is enhancing that care with Cornerstone SALUTES!  Cornerstone SALUTES! has joined the We Honor Veterans program with the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.  As an organization, Cornerstone has reached Partner Level Two (of four levels). 

Complete information about how we have reached Partner Level Two and the necessary steps to attain full partnership can be found at We Honor Veterans on the NHPCO website at www.wehonorveterans.org/. 

Cornerstone SALUTES! is a comprehensive hospice program respectfully celebrating veterans' service to our country, at home and abroad, and providing care that recognizes the challenges unique to military families.

Cornerstone SALUTES! offers

• Staff specially trained by a national VA expert to meet the unique needs of our veterans.
• A tailor-made Pinning Ceremony for the veteran patient and family by a veteran member of our staff or a veteran volunteer.  A special pin and a Certificate of Appreciation are presented to the patient. (See photo of pinning ceremony below.)
• Veteran stories and/or legacies recorded by trained volunteers who can submit the story to the Veterans History Project, Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
• Annual Journey of Remembrance offered exclusively for veterans' families to pin, thank and honor them for their part in helping to keep America free:  "A soldier does not fight alone ... it is a family effort."
• Support groups held in coordination with other veteran support groups to supplement their services.
• Networking with other veteran services to help Cornerstone Hospice work together and join in the fabric of veteran support in all of our communities.

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To read more about the Veterans History Project, go to www.loc.gov/vets. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC honors the fallen of the Vietnam War.  Relatives and friends leave letters, poems, and photographs there.  To view them and take a virtual tour of the Memorial Wall, go to www.virtualwall.org.  In addition, to assist our American heroes and families of our wounded and fallen soldiers, you may purchase a piece of history at http://www.productsforgood.com/cornerstonesalutes.