OAHHS Hospital Voice Fall/Winter 2020

32 » A magazine for and about Oregon Community Hospitals. HOSPITAL SPOTLIGHTS, CONT. ST. CHARLES HEALTH SYSTEM  CARING FOR VETERANS AT THE END OF LIFE As veterans’ transition to the end of life, they can be jarred by some of their most traumatic experiences of war. St. Charles Home Health and Hospice Care Bereavement Coordinator Sue Coyle has watched them struggle. She recalled one patient who was highly distressed and agitated. The patient’s nurse knew about his military service history, that he had post-traumatic stress disorder, that he was averse to any physical touch. She skillfully coached his other caregivers to approach him quietly, and use soft, gentle language. “That comes from experience with working with veterans and being edu- cated,” Coyle said. And it is why St. Charles Home Health and Hospice Care is a partner of We Honor Veterans, a nationwide program aimed at caring for and honoring those who have served when they reach the end of life. A program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs, We Honor Veterans recognizes the unique needs of Amer- ica’s veterans and their families. The program provides educational tools and resources to organizational partners such as St. Charles, increas- ing their capacity to serve veterans. “We recognize there are so many veterans who die in our community and aren’t connected with the VA at time of death,” Coyle said. “So, how do we as a community make sure we care for them in our health system?” There are five levels of partnership in We Honor Veterans, and for many years St. Charles Home Health and Hospice Care was a Level 1, Coyle said. Recently it achieved a Level 2 designation, which means “the organization is beginning to develop a program directed towards veterans that involves intentionally educating our staff and intentionally educating our volunteers.” That includes using the We Honor Veterans Military History Checklist at admission to St. Charles Home Health and Hospice Care. The check- list prompts a conversation about veterans’ backgrounds, including the branch of military and war era they served in and whether their service included combat and dangerous or traumatic assignments. It also helps identify whether they’d prefer their caregivers have a military back- ground and the VA benefits they may be eligible to receive. “It’s a very simple document,” Coyle said, “but it opens the door to better understand our veterans and where they served, and importantly, what VA connections do they have and what VA connections are they able to take advantage of?”