There are quilts being made by nursing home residents to drape over the bodies of friends who have died and are being carried out of the facility on gurneys. The director of nursing in a nursing home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, tells the story of a resident one day asking why it is that new residents come in through the front door while those who die are taken out the back door, without any acknowledgement or ceremony. The resident shared the difficulty of not knowing what has happened to someone and not being able to mark the passing or honor the person’s life in a dignified manner. The nurse agreed and advocated for a change in policy; people who died would be taken out the front door and the residents and staff would have the opportunity to recognize their life. An idea developed to make quilts to cover the person as they left the facility. Over time, these quilts, many made by the residents themselves, became more personalized and, eventually, residents began making quilts for themselves in anticipation of their own death, using familiar fabrics and favorite colors.

At the Cheyenne Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center, red, white and blue quilts made by volunteers are given to veterans in the final days of their lives and also draped over the gurneys and gurney blankets that cover the bodies of deceased veterans as they are taken out of the facility. Chaplain Carol Carr, chief of chaplain services, explains “When veterans die at the VA Medical Center, they are removed from the facility in a Final Salute ceremony…Anyone there at the time a veteran is removed - doctors, nurses and other employees as well as residents - stops to salute the person as the gurney is wheeled out.” She describes why the hospital established such a practice of respect. "Typically when a person dies at a hospital or nursing home anywhere in this country, the funeral home removes the body on a covered gurney in a very professional and discreet manner…so that most patients and staff remain unaware that a death has occurred." But several years ago, Ron Martin, a nursing supervisor and a veteran, suggested that employees and anyone else present should pause and provide a Final Salute as the gurney passes." By 2010, the staff at the Cheyenne VA Medical Center provided this Final Salute to all veterans who died in our facility, any time of night or day…To add to the ceremony, we began to drape the gurney in a red, white and blue afghan." In 2013, Sue Tardif, a VA Medical Center nurse and volunteer, suggested quilts might be donated and used. This has been the practice ever since and when the ceremony ends, the quilts are given to family members of the veteran.

“The Final Salute”
Photo by Pamela L. Hill, courtesy Cheyenne Veterans Administration Medical Center.