Our local hospital takes blankets and uses them in a special way. They give blankets to everyone, but if a patient is terminal, they make sure there's another blanket folded at the bottom of the bed. This notifies non-medical and other staff (x-ray techs, etc) of the situation so they know to be extra sensitive to the families. Otherwise they wouldn't know due to HIPAA.
Dd has so many blankets. And pillowcases. We appreciate them.