MidEast Ohio Nurses Honor Guard provides final tribute

Nurses live their lives dedicated to making the lives of others better. Now a newly formed organization serving Tuscarawas, Holmes, Wayne, Coshocton, Muskingum, Licking and Knox counties is providing a final tribute to nurses if requested.

The MidEast Ohio Nurses Honor Guard will attend the funerals of area nurses and offer a Nightengale tribute to honor the contributions the nurses made in their life of service.

The local chapter of the honor guard was started by Tina Gibson, who once worked for a funeral home and saw the significance other honor guard groups had for the families of veterans, police officers, firefighters and other groups.

“I found out about it about April of last year, when I saw this come across my Facebook page, and there was actually a name and an email. It asked if you’d be interested in starting your own honor guard,” Gibson said. “When I found out that the counties that my organization covers were available, it was a no-brainer.”

Taking no more than five minutes, the Nightengale Service officially releases the nurse from his/her nursing duties. The tribute, which dates to the Florence Nightengale era, begins with a recognition of the nurse’s career and a reading. They also ring a triangle three times to honor the nurse. A white rose is given to the deceased, and a wooden rose is given to the family. A small porcelain lamp also is given to the family, along with a small canvas bag to store the lamp.

Nurse honor guard members wear traditional white uniforms with a cap and a cape for the ceremony. The organization consists of all volunteers, and more are needed to ensure area families who request the service can receive it.

“Everything’s on a volunteer basis. I only ask the volunteers to purchase white scrubs and white shoes. They can purchase the capes and caps if they choose to,” Gibson said, adding she has purchased five capes and caps to loan to volunteers if needed. “I want nurses to be able to go to the service and experience being part of the organization.”

Gibson also is receiving some donations to help purchase materials needed for the service. “That has been really helpful,” she said.

The area group did its first service in November and has done about 15 services at press time. Gibson would like funeral homes to automatically ask families of nurses if they’d like to have the honor guard service.

“We just want to get to that point that we’re in the forefront of their mind when they hear they’re preparing a service for a nurse,” Gibson said.

The local nurse honor guard is part of a larger national organization that includes more than 250 local groups across the United States and into Canada. Currently, there are 15 honor guard groups that serve Ohio.

“We actually had our first coalition conference back in May, and there were over 450 nurses there,” Gibson said.

More volunteers are needed because services are scheduled quickly and not everyone will be available.

“We can always use volunteers because we’re all busy. A lot of us work, and we have kids and grandkids. I can’t do it by myself,” Gibson said.

Families have shown much gratitude after the Nightengale service.

“I’ve gotten cards and letters,” Gibson said. “It’s very heartfelt and very profound. It really leaves an impression on you once you see it.”

So much so that other nurses attending the funeral and seeing the special recognition have volunteered to join the nurse honor guard.

To volunteer or make a donation, email meonursehonorguard@gmail.com. More information about the group and its services can be found on the Facebook page at MidEast Ohio Nurses Honor Guard.