Our Story................

The Arizona Nurse Honor Guard was founded in 2017. We are a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization. We have honored over 168 nurses since February 2018. The guard is a grass roots organization started by Toni C. (Chief Executive Officer) after she brought the idea back from attending a Show Me Your Stethoscope Nursing Rally in Washington DC in 2015.

At the event she viewed a nurse, Julia M. speak about mentoring other nurses to start honor guards in their states. Julia was an active participant in an honor guard in Michigan, and became Toni's mentor. The rally’s focus was to unite nurses who were burnt out as healthcare workers and were working toward supporting each other and supporting legislation for better staff to patient nurse ratios. The Arizona Nurse Honor Guard was the first offspring honor guard from Julia’s presentation in 2015.

In 2015 Toni started plans to start the honor guard and by the summer of 2017, Toni recruited 4 nurses to start the organization. All 5 nurses were strangers but they answered a Facebook post from Toni and they attended her first and second meetings. The co-founders of the Arizona Nurse Honor Guard are Tamara P. RN, Tina F., LPN, Pamela W., RN and Meagan P., RN. When Toni made the decision to bring the idea of creating an honor guard in Arizona the four co-founders supported Toni every step of the way and together they built the foundation for the Arizona Nurse Honor Guard.

The guard is composed of 59 active and retired nurses giving their time to honor nurses. These retired and working nurse volunteers reside in many cities across the valley including Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, Phoenix, Casa Grande, Sun City, Surprise, Glendale, Avondale, San Tan Valley, New River, Anthem, Avondale, Fountain Hills, Buckeye, Sun City West, and Peoria. In the Prescott chapter the nurses reside in Cornville, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, Paulden, Prescott, and Humboldt, Arizona.

The Florence Nightingale tribute is presented at all memorials for the deceased and entails the nurse volunteers dressed in historic post-World War II  uniforms. Our volunteer nurses present the tribute to the family and friends of the deceased nurse. They signal a triangle bell to relieve the nurse from their duties, present a rose and nurse lamp to the family as a token of appreciation for the nurse's service to the profession. The concept of the honor guard is a way to share with nurse colleagues and their families' honoring remarkable nurses at their passing.

This idea has extended into other opportunities for the Arizona Nurse Honor Guard. In 2018, the honor guard was invited to honor their first nurse Terri S. and in the same year the honor guard developed a second chapter in Tucson, Arizona, named the Pima Chapter, co-founded by two nurses living in Tucson. 

In 2018 Toni spoke at the Arizona Nurses Association Annual Conference and in the same year began presenting to local Nurse Associations across the Valley to spread their mission.

In addition, in 2018 the honor guard started a yearly tradition of honoring working nurses during Nurses Week. Since 2018 the honor guard has honored working nurses every year at local hospital organizations including Banner, Abrazo, Honor Health, Valley Wise, City of Hope, Tucson Medical Center, Prescott Veterans Medical Center and Carl T Hayden Veterans Medical Center each year. This year the honor guard will be honoring nurses for Banner’s Hospitals in Glendale, Sun City, Mesa, Sun City West, Case Grande, and Phoenix. Dignity’s-Mercy Gilbert, St. Joseph’s, Westgate, Yavapai Regional West and East Campus, and Cancer Institute. Abrazo in Phoenix and Glendale, Honor Health in Scottsdale, Carl T Hayden’s Veteran Hospital in Phoenix, Prescott Veterans Medical Center Prescott, Valleywise-Phoenix, City of Hope Cancer Center, and the Mayo Clinic-Phoenix.

The honor guard has expanded to giving back their time to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) volunteering for their first aid station every year since 2018. In addition, the honor guard nurses give back to honoring Veterans at the Veterans Day Parade since 2018. Even in the height of COVID the honor guard still pushed forward, were creative and honored nurses when called upon.

The honor guard started a chapter in 2019 in Sierra Vista’s Cochise County with 1 co-founder nurse and in 2020 started a chapter in Prescott, Arizona, naming the chapter after Yavapai County with 1 co founder nurse living in Prescott.

In 2019 Toni was awarded Woman of the Year by BPW (Business Professional Woman) organization for her initiative to create the first nurse honor guard in Arizona. 

The honor guard was invited in 2022 to the Arizona Nurse’s Association Nightingale Tribute in Flagstaff, Arizona. 

At this time the honor guard is active in Maricopa, Yavapai, Pinal, and Coconino counties, although upon request the guard has honored nurses outside the designated county chapters.

The Arizona Nurse Honor Guard has extended their reach in honoring nurses outside their local counties and out of state. In 2019 the guard honored a female Colonel in Albuquerque, New Mexico and nurses in Yuma and Winslow, Arizona.

The honor guard has also provided mentorship to new honor guards in other states including Albuquerque, New Mexico and San Francisco, California.

Last year the honor guard became the state lead in Arizona as part of the National Nurse Honor Guard Coalition started by Julia M.; their first conference will be held this year in May.

This year in February the honor guard honored their first living nurse providing a living tribute to recognize and honor this nurse who was on service with a local hospice.

The guard now offers a scholarship opportunity to student nurses enrolled in nursing school; their first recipient will be awarded in May of 2024.

In 2024 the honor guard was invited to present at An Evening of Nurse Excellence in May 2024.