Rich Gruber, a volunteer with Hospice of Warren County in Pennsylvania, has honored 253 veterans over the past 13 years through pinning ceremonies that include military branch-specific pins and personal touches reflecting each veteran's service history. "It is a true privilege to honor our veterans," Gruber says. Staff social workers support the ceremonies.

Greater access to pediatric hospice and respite services could improve outcomes, as families face challenges supporting a growing population of medically fragile children, experts say. "Many providers simply don't know that pediatric respite programs exist," says Shekinah Eliassen, CEO of George Mark Children's House. "Increasing awareness among referring physicians, insurers and hospital systems is essential if we want families to know that help -- and hope -- are available."

A study published in JAMDA -- The Journal of the Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association found significant opportunities to improve end-of-life care in assisted living communities, especially through better processes and partnerships with hospice providers. The study found that almost 30% of communities lacked clear policies for retaining residents needing end-of-life care, and less than one-third of administrators rated the quality of dying as excellent.

Tara Schapmire, an associate social work professor at the University of Louisville, has received a $1.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to lead a national training initiative for social workers in psychosocial and palliative care for oncology patients. The program will train 250 social workers over five years, seeking to enhance support for cancer patients and their families.

A "wind phone" has been installed at Life Forest, a cemetery for cremated remains in Hillsborough, N.H., providing a space for people to process grief. The concept originated in Japan in 2010, when Itaru Sasaki installed a disconnected phone booth to speak with his late cousin, and the idea spread after a devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

A carpenter's view: "I kept on thinking of it as building an altar. It meant, for me, that I was going to make all the wood look as beautiful as I could." -- Gary Seldon, on the design of the Life Forest wind phone, which is made of cedar with a metal roof and lattice sides for privacy.