As part of National Nurses Week, May 6-12, the Nursing Honor Guard of Ohio’s Hospice honored its nurses at a special ceremony on May 10 at the bell tower at Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton. 

The Nursing Honor Guard Tribute honors nurses who are in hospice care with Ohio’s Hospice.

Since its kickoff during Nurses Week in 2016, the Nursing Honor Guard has performed 125 tributes at the bedside of nurses who are in hospice care with Ohio’s Hospice. Ohio’s Hospice nurses volunteer to serve in this program. They travel to patients’ homes and formally acknowledge their many years of service as a nurse.

Dressed in traditional and historical uniforms comprised of a blue and red cape, white dress and cap, the Nursing Honor Guard recognizes nurses for their commitment to caring and providing compassion to patients. The ceremony highlights a nurse’s career and individual achievements. It also includes the recitation of the Nightingale Pledge, a statement of the ethics and principles of the nursing profession. 

“Nursing is one of the most trusted and honored professions. Nursing is a calling,” said Jena Langford, BSN, RN, BS, CCM, CHPM, a nurse and team leader with Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton. “Our mission at Ohio’s Hospice is to celebrate the lives of those we have the privilege of serving by providing superior care and superior services to each patient and family. We are honoring our nurses, past and present, who have given one’s self to enhance the lives of others.” 

During National Nurses Week, nurses were recognized at the various affiliates of Ohio’s Hospice, a partnership of mission-driven, not-for-profit hospices in Ohio committed to a shared vision of strengthening and preserving community-based hospices.