There seems to be gallons of ink on here about the horrors of hospice. I fully respect all those people who have shared these experiences. It's a valid discussion and I don't doubt for one second the validity of these experiences, nor am I interested in starting some sort of competition. However just as we need to hear the negative should also talk about the positive.
I've been volunteering with a non profit hospice for a few months. I don't claim to be any kind of expert as I am fairly new to the work and my experience is limited. My impression so far of this particular organization is very good. I've heard that the for profit companies doing hospice is Not so good but that is purely anecdotal evidence. So, let's talk......
This is a very passionate field and you really have to have patience to deal with those kind of patients, you have to be sensitive to their needs. 👍
Think of the province as a giant insurance provider that is shopping around for the best deal, care providers vie for contracts and many of the little players have been pushed aside when larger more politically connected companies set their sights on a desirable territory. There are private pay companies available for those who need extra care and can afford it, but if you want to take the gov't money you also have to accept the level of care they provide.
After I spoke with a few doctors who had previously treated my father, and who I knew to be aggressive and not quitters, and seeing my sister's more rapid deterioration, I spoke with the nursing staff about options going forward for the short time remaining.
The suggestion was to move her to ICU, which was done, then to a hospice area on one of the medical floors. No transfer out of the hospital was necessary.
That was a relief and comfort to us; my sister wasn't in any condition to be moved anywhere from one room to another.
We were given privacy, a comfortable room a few doors down for privacy if we needed to just get away. We discussed the medicine and from there were just left alone until her death occurred.
It was very professional, respectful, soothing to the point that any end of life situation can be.
I have had one other experience with hospice but the whole situation was manipulated by an emotionally unstable family member, and since it was so negative, and hopefully so unique, I won't even mention it, including the funeral which was orchestrated by the so-called hospice "minister" - it was an embarrassing farce.
CWillie, does the care manager actually select the home care therapy company? Does the family have any choice in the matter? I'm wondering as I'm thinking about some of the great therapists we've had, and some that weren't at all great and had to be replaced.
The care my brother received when diagnosed with terminal cancer was amazing and sounds similar to your hospice model. There was a coordinated team of doctor, nurses and psws as well as the many volunteers, which I suspect must have been coordinated by the Cancer Society. He chose to spend his last weeks in the hospice wing of a local hospital and the nurses were amazing and compassionate.
My aunt was on hospice for a much longer time, several years ago. A different non-profit, also very good care. She was in a small AL, and hospice added enough support to their offerings that she was able to stay out of snf (the one in her little town isn't good), despite being bedridden & advanced dementia the last several months.
The AL that I'm aiming Dad towards has a partnership with the local non-profit hospice, so hopefully we can have an equally good experience when the time comes.
When Mother needed 24 hour care, the nurses appeared and the hospital bed arrived. The chaplains, social workers, and nurses were the best I have ever dealt with during the four years of intense caregiving.
My mother was in Assisted Living for four years, and with Hospice's assistance she did not have to move to a nursing home. There was no horrible moment. A week after Mother passed, her Chaplain called me to make sure that I was doing good.
Mother was almost 98 years old. The last week, she lost her eyesight and was already very hard of hearing. I was relieved that she had moved on to a better place. I miss her every day, because she was also my best friend.
My dad died on a Friday night and the social worker wanted to come comfort me, which I didn't want or need. My dad was 92 (so he lived a good long life) and I wanted to grieve in private. It took me a while to convince her that she didn't have to ruin her Friday night to come console me, that I was fine, just weepy. Since my family isn't religious, they didn't have to do any spiritual comfort with us. I think we were pretty low maintenance overall. I wouldn't hesitate to bring in hospice again for my mom if needed.
They delivered everything within just a few hours of her hospital discharge, including a bed, an over-the-bed hospital table, all her oxygen needs, stacks of disposable underpads and incontinence supplies, refills of all her current medications plus a supply of the same meds and additional pain-killer in liquid form for 'later'. The hospice 'team', a chaplain, social worker, aides, and nurses all stopped in to introduce themselves, evaluate mom and address any needs or questions we had. Any additional meds were immediately called in to a local pharmacy and available within the hour for pick up.
I, too, miss the nurses and team members. The nurses would come by if they were in our area to 'check on her' even when mom wasn't on their list for the day. Two of them texted me regularly, asking how mom was, could they do anything for us. All of them either called or sent a heartfelt card after she passed. They were all truly kind and caring towards mom and the rest of the family.
All the workers we dealt with treated their jobs as a ministry, I felt. Nothing bad to say at all here.