What Is the We Honor Veterans Program?

We Honor Veterans is a national program created through a partnership between the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Its purpose is simple and overdue: teach hospices across the country to care for veterans the way their service deserves, by understanding military culture, recognizing service, and meeting the needs veterans carry into their final months.

Here's what the program is, why it exists, and what it means for your family.

Why Does a Program Like This Exist?

A large share of Americans who die each year are veterans, yet most veterans die outside VA facilities: at home, in nursing facilities, in community hospice care. That means community hospices, not the VA, do much of the nation's end-of-life care for veterans.

And veterans are not generic patients. Military culture shapes how they report pain, how they accept help, and what surfaces emotionally at the end of life, old trauma included. We Honor Veterans exists to close the gap between what veterans need and what an untrained hospice might offer. Our article on why end-of-life care is different for veterans covers those differences in depth.

What Does the Program Involve?

We Honor Veterans gives hospices a framework for becoming genuinely veteran-ready. In general terms, participating hospices commit to things like:

Asking every patient about military service. "Have you or a family member ever served?" is a question that changes care plans and unlocks benefits.
Training staff in military culture and veteran needs, including stoicism around pain, trauma at end of life, and era-specific experiences.
Recognizing veterans' service through ceremonies, certificates, and honors that veterans welcome.
Recruiting veteran volunteers, because veteran-to-veteran connection reaches places no one else can.
Building relationships with VA and community resources so veterans and families get the benefits they've earned.

The program is structured as a series of levels that hospices progress through as they deepen their veteran-care practices. If you want to know a specific hospice's involvement, just ask them; it's a fair question, and the answer tells you something about their commitment to veterans.

What Is a Pinning Ceremony?

One of the program's best-known practices is the veteran pinning ceremony: a brief, dignified moment where a veteran is formally thanked for their service, typically with a pin, a certificate, and words of gratitude, often presented veteran-to-veteran, with family gathered.

It sounds small. It isn't. For veterans who came home to silence or worse (Vietnam veterans especially), a sincere thank-you near the end of life can release something held for fifty years. Families often tell us the ceremony is a memory they treasure long after the loss.

What Should Families Ask a Hospice?

If your loved one is a veteran, a few questions will quickly reveal whether a hospice takes veteran care seriously:

Do you ask patients about military service at admission?
How is your staff trained on veteran needs at end of life?
Do you offer recognition ceremonies, and can family attend?
Do you have veteran volunteers?
Can you help us understand VA benefits and how they fit with Medicare?

A veteran-ready hospice will have ready answers.

Does Any of This Depend on VA Coverage?

No. Veteran-centered care is about how care is delivered, not who pays. A veteran on Medicare, the Oregon Health Plan, VA benefits, or private insurance is equally entitled to care that honors their service. The hospice's job is to ask, to listen, and to adapt.

How Engrace Hospice Can Help

Engrace Hospice is locally owned and based in Pendleton, serving a region where military service runs deep: Umatilla County, Morrow County, and Eastern Oregon. We ask every patient about military service, care for veterans with attention to the culture and history they carry, honor their service in the ways they welcome, and help families navigate VA and Medicare options. You can learn more about our approach on our veterans page.

If a veteran you love may need hospice, or you simply want to understand the options, call us at (541) 263-7494 or contact us online. It would be our honor to serve someone who served.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the We Honor Veterans program?

We Honor Veterans is a national program created through a partnership between the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and the Department of Veterans Affairs. It helps hospices learn to care for veterans well: recognizing their service, understanding military culture, and addressing the needs veterans carry at the end of life.

What do hospices in the program actually do differently?

Participating hospices train staff in veteran-specific care, ask every patient about military service, offer recognition such as pinning ceremonies and certificates, connect veterans with veteran volunteers, and build relationships with VA resources in their communities.

What is a veteran pinning ceremony?

A short, dignified ceremony where a veteran on hospice is formally thanked for their service, often with a pin, a certificate, and words of gratitude, frequently presented by a fellow veteran. Family members are usually invited, and many describe it as one of the most meaningful moments of their loved one's final months.

Does a veteran need to use the VA to benefit from veteran-centered hospice care?

No. Veteran-centered hospice care is about how care is delivered, not who pays for it. Veterans on Medicare, Medicaid, VA benefits, or private insurance all deserve, and can receive, care that honors their service.

This article is for general education and isn't medical, legal, or financial advice. For guidance about your specific situation, talk with your physician or call our team.