Suncoast Hospice Patient & Veteran Recipient of Honor Flight

Betty (left) receives a warm welcome home from
Daphni Austin, Suncoast Hospice veterans liaison.

The war memorials in our nation’s capitol generate great patriotic pride, especially among our military veterans. Suncoast Hospice patient Betty Schefter served as a medical secretary in the Women's Army Corp. She and several fellow World War II-era veterans went to see the World War II memorial on a recent trip to Washington, D.C. with Honor Flight West Central Florida. She’s one of 782 veterans, accompanied by guardians, who have traveled there in the past two years courtesy of the nonprofit organization. 

Betty’s care team registered nurse Maureen Diorio along with a group of other Suncoast staff and volunteers welcomed Betty back at the airport. She exited the plane last, beaming with joy and dressed in her pristine red, white and blue outfit prepared by her care team hospice aide Carol Hogan. 

“When I looked at this beautiful woman who had traveled the distance and been gone for more than 16 hours, two words came to mind: Betty Strong. We’re so proud of her,” Maureen said. 

Suncoast Hospice is proud to honor our local veterans through our many partnerships, including Honor Flight West Central Florida and Veterans History Project, which collects and archives interviews of wartime veterans.

If you’re interested in being a guardian or attending a welcome home celebration for Honor Flight, visit www.honorflightwcf.org.