At the Northeast Ohio Nurse Honor Guard, we are dedicated to honoring the lives and legacies of nurses who have gone before us. Through our brief yet unique and personalized Nightingale Tribute, we celebrate the service and dedication of nurses who have cared for their communities with compassion and commitment.
Founded on January 26, 2022, by just two nurses, our organization has grown to include over 70 volunteer members. We are a not-for-profit group comprised of licensed practical nurses (LPNs), registered nurses (RNs), and advanced practice nurses, active, inactive and retired, from all walks of life. Our volunteers serve across Lorain, Medina, Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Ashtabula, Summit, and Stark counties.
In 2024, we honored the lives of over 100 nurses across Northeast Ohio. Our goal is to ensure that every nurse—LPN, RN, or advanced practice, regardless of gender or work status—receives the recognition they deserve for their dedication to the profession.
Explore our website to learn more about requesting a tribute, joining our organization, or making a donation to support our mission of honoring nurses. Together, we carry forward the legacy of nursing with the dignity and respect it so richly deserves.
About Us
Our Mission & Values
Our Mission & Values
Mission:
To honor and recognize our fallen nurse colleague for his/her lifetime of service to the profession, while providing comfort to their family and friends.
Vision:
To provide the Nightingale Tribute for every nurse who passed away in the Northeast Ohio area.
Our Team
Our Mission & Values
We are made up of dedicated nursing professionals who volunteer their time to pay tribute to other nurses. We have over 40 volunteer members that help cover 8 counties in Northeast Ohio area.
Our Service Areas
Serving 8 Northeast Ohio counties. Cuyahoga, Eastern Lorain, Lake, Geauga, Western Ashtabula, Summit, Medina and Stark counties.
Coverage for Ashtabula and Lorain counties are based on proximity to volunteers so please contact us to find out.
Our Tributes
The Nightingale Tribute is our signature service. Nurse Honor Guards process in wearing traditional white scrubs, navy blue cape and nursing cap carrying a lit Nightingale Lamp. A brief biography of the nurse's career is read aloud. We then read the Nightingale Tribute and lay a white rose next to the urn or casket. The final roll call to
The Nightingale Tribute is our signature service. Nurse Honor Guards process in wearing traditional white scrubs, navy blue cape and nursing cap carrying a lit Nightingale Lamp. A brief biography of the nurse's career is read aloud. We then read the Nightingale Tribute and lay a white rose next to the urn or casket. The final roll call to duty is performed. We then release the nurse of her/his earthly nursing duties and the lamp is extinguished. The Nightingale Lamp and a personalized certificate of accomplishment is presented to the family. The ceremony is completed and we file out of the room. This will be altered for living and display tributes.
Types of Nightingale Tributes
Funeral Tribute
Nurse Honor Guards will attend the funeral service at the agreed time. Tributes are approximately 5-7 minutes long. The Nurse Honor Guard communicates with the family and clergy. Similar to a place of worship tribute.
Place of Worship Tribute
Nurse Honor Guards will attend the service at the agreed time. Tributes are approximately 5-7 minutes long. This can be done on the altar or in a vestibule entrance hall. The Nurse Honor Guard communicates with the family and clergy. Similar to a funeral tribute.
Living Tribute
Graveside Tribute
If a nurse is at the end of their life, we can offer them a Living Tribute, while they are alive, and be able to honor them before their passing. Nurse Honor Guards will attend the place of residency, usually assisted living or hospice facility. The program includes everything except the final roll call for duty and the Nightingale Lamp. The program has slight modifications in verbiage. It is approximately 5-7 minutes long. The Nurse Honor Guard communicates with family and facility manager.
Graveside Tribute
Graveside Tribute
Nurse Honor Guards will attend the graveside service at the agreed time. Tributes are approximately 5-7 minutes long. The Nurse Honor Guard communicates with the family and funeral director. Located in Northeast Ohio, this tribute is subject to weather limitations and volunteers' physical limitations.
Funeral Display Tribute
Funeral Display Tribute
Northeast Ohio Nurse Honor Guard will create a framed personalized Nightingale Tribute, a personalized certificate of accomplishment, a white rose and a Nightingale Lamp to be displayed on a table near the services. This service does not include a biography of the nurse. Communication will be with the funeral director after the family's acceptance of service.
Symbolism & Meaning
The Nightingale Lamp
The lamp was used by Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War when she was taking care of the injured soldiers at Scutari Hospital in Turkey in 1854. The lamp was a Turkish lamp which is known still to this day as the Nightingale Lamp The Nightingale Lamp ceremony dates to the late 1860's at the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing in England. Each graduate nurse was presented with the lighting of the lamp to symbolize their entrance into the profession of nursing. It is extinguished at the end of their nursing journey.
The White Rose
The white rose is a symbol of nursing. It represents respect, reverence, unity, and new beginnings. Each honored nurse is given a white rose during each tribute. Depending upon the type of tribute, the rose is laid in or on the casket, in front of a picture and/or urn, or given directly to the nurse for a living tribute. Before the white rose ceremony we invite family members who are nurses, and any nurses in attendance, to stand and honor the nurse being recognized until the end of the ceremony (this includes the white rose ceremony, final roll call for duty and extinguishing of the lamp.)
The Nightingale Tribute
This special tribute is performed by all Nurse Honor Guards as a main focus of each tribute. It is adapted for the different types of ceremonies. It explains our motto that nursing is a calling, a lifestyle, a way of living. This tribute is a special way to honor the fallen nurse by reading the following: "Nurses here today honor this nurse and his/her life as a nurse. This nurse is not remembered for his/her years as a nurse but for the difference he/she made during those years by stepping into people's lives at special moments. The poem, "He/She Was There" by Duane Jaeger, MSN, RN provides an accurate account of what the life of a nurse is like.
Final Roll Call for Duty
This is performed similar to how Police and Firefighters call their colleague's final roll call for duty. After the white rose is laid at the conclusion of the white rose ceremony, we say the nurse's first name three times and ring a triangle in between each call of the nurse's name. When the nurse does not answer the three calls for duty, we say the nurse's full name and title and we officially release her from her earthly nursing duties and thank them for their service in the nursing profession. We then announce that we will take over from here. Once this is completed the lamp is extinguished and presented to the family.
The uniform
The uniform
The Nurse Honor Guard attends the service in the traditional white uniform complete with nursing cap and cape. The cape, with its high collar, was worn in the field for warmth. The red lining signaled they were medical personnel to prevent getting caught in the fighting.
Help Our Mission
Your contribution will allow us to provide families a free service at their loved one's funeral. You can reach out to us at neohnursehonorguard@gmail.com to learn more about how you can help our mission.
Thank you for your donation.
Our state of Ohio EIN # 88-2828430
Tax forms are available on our donate tab.
Contact Us
We'd love to hear from you!
Family or friends of loved ones, funeral directors, membership inquiries, or expressions of gratitude please email us with the link below.