Adventist Health Home Care provides quilts of comfort to veterans

When Adventist Health Home Care Services community liaison Ashima Pratap began delivering quilts of comfort to home health and hospice veteran patients, she quickly realized it was not “just another patient visit.”

The Quilts of Comfort program is a partnership between Adventist Health Portland and the local chapter of Quilts of Valor, which provides quilts to honor veterans for their service. Because many patients aren’t on Adventist Health Home Care Services for the time it takes to make a full quilt of valor—up to nine months—volunteers sew smaller quilts of comfort that are always on hand for veteran patients of Adventist Health Home Care.

“For some patients, it’s simply that I check on them and provide a listening ear,” says Ashima. “For others, I have the privilege of honoring all they have done in their lives by presenting a comfort quilt to a veteran.”

On one visit, Ashima chose a quilt of comfort from the always-stocked quilt cabinet for her home visit. “I never imagined in my role that I could truly make a difference in a patient’s day,” she says. She introduced herself to Greg* and explained that she was there to provide the gift of a quilt to honor his time spent in service.

“As he took the quilt and began unfolding it, his smile was big and beautiful,” she says. “He told me he was honored and grateful. Funny—the same thing I had said to him!”

Ashima sat and visited with Greg, as he ran his hands over the new quilt on his lap.

“I knew then that this had to happen with every veteran, every time,” she says.

Sarah Snyder, a palliative care social worker for Adventist Health Home Care, took a quilt of comfort to Michael*, another veteran who recently had to leave his home to stay in an adult foster care facility.

Knowing he had given up what little independence he had left, Sarah knew Michael would appreciate a visit. As she presented him with the quilt, he began to share his story.

As Michael told Sarah about his life, he said he didn’t have many friends or family members around, and since moving he didn’t have much of anything that belonged to him anymore. But the quilt was his, and his alone.

Michael wanted Sarah to know how much the quilt meant to him, and although he passed away shortly after her visit, she took comfort in knowing that he had been honored for his service.

Sarah adds that while it’s her job to provide comfort to patients on our service, she is humbled when given the chance to truly honor them in this process.

“Seeing these beautiful quilts on the laps and beds of our patients brings me a sense of pride and hope,” she says. “These veterans gave their time to serve our nation. I feel blessed to give them my time now, and to serve their needs.”

*Names have been changed to protect patient privacy