Nursing Equivalent of 21-Gun Salute

BETHLEHEM, Pa., Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- It's sort of like a 21-gun salute at a funeral – but to honor the quiet heroism of nurses. It's called the Nightingale Tribute, performed by a Nurse Honor Guard.

St. Luke's University Health Network is first in the Lehigh Valley, Pa., to form a Nurse Honor Guard. In addition to the Nightingale Tribute, the Guard may also serve as honorary pallbearers, provide casket honors and perform the stirring graveside Final Call to Duty, extinguishing the flame of a Nightingale Lamp.

"I remember to this day how it resonated with me and its importance for any and all nurses to receive this beautiful service," recalls Snyder, a nurse at St. Luke's Carbon Campus. Inspired by that touching experience, she set out to develop the St. Luke's Nurses Honor Guard to honor those who have dedicated their lives to the nursing profession and given so much to serve their community.

Among the services now offered free of charge by the St. Luke's Nurses Honor Guard:

• The Nightingale Tribute – Known as the "Lady with the Lamp," Florence Nightingale saved many wounded soldiers during the Crimean War, laying the foundation for professional nursing. During the services, a member of the Honor Guard reads the Nightingale Pledge and a nursing sonnet, then places the rose while saying the nurse's name.
• Honorary Pallbearers – The Honor Guard may be requested to attend the visitation and/or funeral services to serve as honorary pallbearers.
• Casket Honor Guard – The Honor Guard may be posted at the head of the casket, standing silently to give their last respects.
• Final Call to Duty – The Final Call to Duty may be performed during the services or at the gravesite. During the Final Call to Duty, the Nightingale Lamp is lit in the nurse's honor, and the nurse's name is called out as a request to report to duty. After the third and final call, and with no response, the nurse is announced as retired and the lamp's flame is extinguished.

"This is one of the greatest community services I have been involved with, and we are most honored that it has St. Luke's University Health Network representation," Snyder says. "It brings their career in nursing full circle. A career in nursing starts by the honor we receive at the time of our capping or pinning at our nursing school graduation. It stays with us throughout our nursing career until the end, when the honor guard performs the final call to duty, which is unanswered. They are then relieved of their nursing duty to rest in peace."

About St. Luke's

Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 18,000 employees providing services at 14 campuses and 300+ outpatient sites. With annual net revenue of more than $3 billion, the Network's service area includes 11 counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke's is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.

SOURCE St. Luke's University Health Network