FRESNO, Calif. -- The Department of Veterans Affairs says its mission
is "to fulfill President Lincoln's promise ... 'To care for him who
shall have borne the battle.' "
At 14 VA hospitals around the
country, that includes the special care veterans need when their final
battle is coming to an end. CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker
reports.
A flower on the door at the VA hospital in
Fresno ... A sign the veteran inside is near the end of life. There's a
flower on Richard Murley's door.
"I'm in here for good. They don't know how long," says Murley.
Some
1,800 veterans die at VA facilities each day. Many die alone. Korean
War veteran Richard Murley is dying from internal bleeding and his
family lives some distance away. Here at the Fresno Veteran Affairs
hospital, the staff has made end-of-life care a priority military
mission.
The sound of gentle harp music soothes one dying veteran.
"That was beautiful," whispers the dying man.
Volunteers step in when family can't.
Barbara Stadler, a Veterans Affair employee who
volunteers at the hospital's end-of-life program, holds the hand of
Korean war vet Richard Murley.
(Credit:
CBS)
"A dignified death is one of the most precious gifts
anyone can give," says Dr. Wessel Meyer, chief of the medical staff. He
oversees the end-of-life program aptly named "No veteran dies alone."
It's a very important part of the general care offered by the VA, said Dr. Meyer.
"No
veteran dies alone" is an all-volunteer effort. Barbara Stadler, a
secretary at the VA during the day, donates much of her spare time --
and all of her compassion -- to make sure the veterans here have a human
hand to hold till the end.