To request the presence of the
UnityPoint Health – Waterloo
Nursing Honor Guard, please
call (319) 235-3692. We ask for a 2-3 day notice to
organize our volunteers. Members of the Honor Guard consider it a
privilege to participate in the services of their
fellow nurse. Who better deserves a final
farewell than nurses who have dedicated their
lives to caring for others in times of need.
• Services of the Honor Guard are available
at the family’s request for any active or
retired Registered Nurse or Licensed
Practical Nurse.
• Services are available within 50-mile radius
of the Cedar Valley.
• Members of the Honor Guard will attend
all services wearing the traditional white
uniforms and blue/red capes. Nursing is a profession steeped in tradition. We use these traditions as symbols, which
reflect honor and respect for those who have
given so much and who have served so well. Any of the traditions can be requested for a
funeral service or visitation. Honorary Pallbearers
The Honor Guard may be requested to attend
the visitation and/or funeral services to serve as
honorary pallbearers. The Nightingale Pledge
The Nightingale Pledge and a nursing sonnet may
be read at any time during the services. 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 and license
number are called out with a request to report
to duty. With no response, the nurse’s name and
license number are repeated twice more with
the same request. After the third and final call,
the nurse’s license number is announced as
retired, and the lamp’s flame is extinguished. This is the final call for those who have served
selflessly and given their lives for the good of
their fellow man; their tasks are complete, their
duties are done, they are going home. . Casket Honor Guard
The Honor Guard may be posted at the head
of the casket, standing silently to give their last
respects. The Honor Guard will be exchanged at
predetermined times during the visitation, and
the Nightingale lamp will be passed with each
replacement.
