Honoring Memorial Day 2026

"Taps" Bugle Call: USMC Drum & Bugle Corps [YouTube]
YouTube filmed at the National Mall's Vietnam Memorial, Washington DC; compilation by Joy Berger, Editor in Chief; retrieved from the internet 5/22/25
We invite you to begin this Memorial Day with this reflective playing of "Taps." Its simple, 24 notes evoke poignant memories and emotions for persons of all generations. Ongoing, we share with you these resources below for the veterans and their families whom you serve.

• Taps for Veterans - Request a Bugler: "With over 1,000 veterans passing away each day and not enough military buglers to attend every funeral, most veterans receive an audio recording of Taps. Taps for Veterans believes that a veterans’ final honors are worthy of a live rendition of our National Song of Remembrance. ... We match buglers with families of veterans who wish to honor them with the sounding of Taps. We are standing ready to serve once again, just make your request and we will do our best to fulfill it."
  
  
• Find a name on the The Vietnam Veterans Memorial: This can be an important tool for your social workers and chaplains to use with Vietnam veterans and families for whom the deaths of loved ones then are still "with them" today. 
  
  
• T*A*P*S - Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors: Bookmark and recommend this easy-to-remember website for Gold Star Families: taps.org. 
  
  
• "Remembering a bugler's broken note," by PBS: "The assassination of President John F. Kennedy [in November 1963] was followed by four days of grieving, culminating in a final farewell at Arlington National Cemetery. As Principal Bugler of the United States Army Band, Sgt. Keith Clark had played “Taps” at Arlington hundreds of times. But On Nov. 25, 1963, he was there to play the solemn 24-note melody for the president’s state funeral. In the rendition of “Taps” heard by millions around the world, Clark fumbled the sixth note of the tune. The broken note served as a symbol of sorrow to a lamenting nation. 

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Veterans Day 2026: recent articles in the news
Hospice & Palliative Care Today; compilation by Joy Berger; 5/22/26

• Discontinuation of medications with limited benefit at end of life in community-dwelling older veterans
• TNMHPO Announcing Veteran Initiative Partnership (VIP)
• Hospice of Orange & Sullivan Counties hosts Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day ceremony
• VA Pittsburgh chaplains: Providing hope, healing and spiritual support for veterans
• The business case for family caregiver skills training: Results from a multisite trial in the Veterans health care system

Hospice fraud is real — but so is ethical hospice care 
Mountain Democrat, Placerville, CA; by Tim Meadows, CEO of Snowline Health; Molly Corbett, CEO of Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice; Deanna Brooks, CEO of Hospice of San Joaquin; Sarah McSpadden, CEO of The Elizabeth Hospice; and Craig Dressang, CEP of YoloCares; 5/20/26 
Recent headlines detailing hospice fraud investigations across California are deeply troubling. ... These investigations are necessary, long overdue and effective. ... However, amid this justified scrutiny, it is critical not to lose sight of an equally important truth: Hospice fraud is not hospice care. ... Just as important, there are clear ways to identify ethical hospice providers. Families can protect themselves by taking a few simple, informed steps:

• Review Medicare Care Compare ratings and quality data
• Ask how long the hospice has served the community
• Ask about accreditation and quality standards
• Confirm availability of after-hours support and caregiver assistance

Berry Charitable Trust makes first distribution to Shanti Niketan Hospice Home 
WNKY News 40, Glasgow, KY; by WNKY Staff; 5/21/26 
On Tuesday [5/19], the T.J. Community Mission Foundation (TJCMF) was presented with the first annual distribution from the Mary Elizabeth Jones Berry Charitable Trust at the Shanti Niketan Hospice Home. According to the foundation, Berry was a patient at the home. ... TJCMF officials say the trust will provide distributions to the Shanti Niketan Hospice Home for 50 years. Officials say the gift is the largest planned gift in the Foundation’s history.

Veterans’ Memorial Garden to be dedicated May 25 
Carteret County News-Times, Morehead, NC; by Cheryl Burkes; 5/20/26 
Among ceremonies that will honor fallen veterans on Memorial Day, which is May 25, is dedication of a new Veterans’ Memorial Garden at the Crystal Coast Hospice House in Newport. ... The garden is behind the Hospice House, adjacent to the Memorial Brick Garden. Kay Coole, Executive Director of the Crystal Coast Hospice House, said, “I wanted to recognize the veterans in our area and we needed a flagpole. ... Memorial Day will be the first time the flag is raised." The garden contains a flagpole, military branch stones and bushes, and flowers.

Edmond police grant hospice patient’s dream ride-along 
News9.com, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; by Micah Wilson; 5/21/26 
Olivia Snyder, a 23-year-old Edmond woman receiving hospice care, fulfilled her longtime dream of joining an Edmond police ride-along after years of battling rare medical conditions. ... Snyder said she has admired law enforcement since childhood and even trained to become a private investigator. [Descriptions of her illness ...] Now receiving hospice care through Heart to Heart Hospice, Snyder said she has finally begun to feel seen as a person rather than a patient.

Mass General Brigham claims 1,400 lives saved 
hoodline, Boston, MA; by Benjamin Cortez; 5/21/26 
Mass General Brigham says a two year, systemwide push to standardize safety checks, expand hospice and roll out predictive analytics sharply cut inpatient deaths, tallying more than 1,400 lives saved in two years by the health system’s own math. Several front line physicians inside those hospitals are not buying it. They argue that shifts in hospice placement and clinical documentation, not overnight miracles in bedside care, probably explain much of the improvement. The result is a rare, very public tug of war between executives celebrating quality rankings and clinicians who say the numbers do not line up with what they see on the wards.

CMS clarifies telehealth policy during enrollment moratorium 
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/21/26 
Hospices will continue to be able to use telehealth for face-to-face recertifications during the hospice and home health enrollment moratorium, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS). ... The federal statute stipulates that telehealth recertifications are not permitted in regions that are under an enrollment moratorium. This has raised some questions about how hospices can use telehealth for the next six months. “Perhaps the most troubling unintended consequence of a nationwide moratorium is its apparent impact on telehealth …” a trio of state associations said in a joint statement. “In rural communities and congested urban areas alike, this imposes severe and unnecessary burdens on the most vulnerable patients at the most vulnerable moments of their lives.”

What misconceptions do people have about hospice care 
What's Next? - Buffalo*Toronto Public Media | PBS; by Kelley Clem; 5/20/26
Many people associate hospice care with the final days of life, but healthcare advocates say there are still major misconceptions surrounding both hospice and palliative care. On this episode of What’s Next?, Kelley Clem of Hospice Buffalo and Palliative Care Buffalo explains the differences between the two forms of care and why early intervention can improve quality of life for patients living with chronic illness. She also discusses how palliative care helps manage symptoms at any stage of illness, while hospice focuses on comfort and support during the final months of life, including emotional and spiritual care for families.

Iconic gay congressman Barney Frank passed away at age 86 [with hospice care] 
LGBTQNation; by Greg Owen; 5/20/26 
He served for 32 years in Congress and was the first U.S. congressman to come out voluntarily and to marry someone of the same sex ... has died. He was 86. Frank is survived by his husband, Jim Ready. Frank had been in hospice care near his home in Ogunquit, Maine, for the past few months, receiving treatment for congestive heart failure. His family said he passed away Tuesday night [5/19/26].
Editor's Note: Through the height of the AIDS epidemic, the hospice movement was also taking hold in the United States. The Human Rights Campaign describes Barney Frank's influence, "At the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis, Frank was one of few lawmakers willing to push the federal government to respond with greater urgency, while too many elected officials remained silent." His advocacy helped define an era that shaped both HIV/AIDS policy and hospice growth.

7 dog breeds that can sense when their owner is about to die 
Doggodigest; by Gargi Chakravorty; 5/20/26 
... Stories of dogs refusing to leave their owner’s side during their final days or acting strangely before a loved one passes away have fueled curiosity about whether dogs truly possess a sixth sense about death, and scientific research has begun to explore this phenomenon, revealing that dogs’ extraordinary senses may allow them to detect subtle biological and behavioral changes in humans. Science suggests dogs may sense approaching death not through psychic ability but through scent. What follows isn’t mythology. It’s a look at seven dog breeds whose sensitivity, emotional intelligence, and extraordinary olfactory wiring make them especially attuned to the moments most of us can’t yet perceive.

1. Golden Retriever ...
2. Labrador Retriever ...
3. Border Collie ...

What Science Actually Says ...
The Signs to Watch For ...

While we can never do enough to show gratitude to our nation’s defenders, we can always do a little more. ~ Gary Sinise

We voice our gratitude to Veterans receiving hospice care, providing hospice care, and those who may one day need its compassion and support. ~ Hospice & Palliative Care Today