Giving Back To Our Dying Veterans - WMDT 47 News - Delmarva's Choice

WMDT 47 NEWS - The latest hospice numbers show, dying veterans now represent a quarter of all deaths in the United States. Officials with the Delaware Hospice Center says an increasing number of veterans of World War II and the Vietnam War Era are passing away now, more than ever.

Since many veterans live with some painful memories, officials at Delaware Hospice say something needs to be done to improve their qualify of life. "The hope was that they would have a more peaceful death if given the opportunity to get some things off their chest."

Delaware Hospice saw 3 hundred veterans this past year. That's up 20 percent from the last year. "We're trying to reeducate our staff on serving the veteran who comes into hospice care," states Vicki Costas, Associate Director of Family Support Services. 3 years ago, Delaware Hospice received a grant to reach out to veterans. They conducted a year long study to see if allowing veterans to talk openly about their military experiences would be beneficial.

And the results were impressive. WMDT spoke with 89-year-old veteran, James Russo, who participated in the study. He started working with Delaware Hospice in March, when his doctor gave him 6 months to live. 8 months later, he's talking about living until he's 105. "This has been a great study," his daughter and caregiver, Cindi Smith, tells WMDT. "I've really enjoyed spending this time with my father. Dad will sit at home and read his books and watch his birds. But this study has made him come alive. Going back with him through pictures, talking about his different friends that he has, the stories...each time there are more and more stories. It ignites a fire in him."

If you would like to hear more about James Russo, the veteran study, and Delaware Hospice Center's efforts to help veterans make sure to tune in this weekend for part 2 & 3 of Emily Lampa's in-depth report on our vets.

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