Where do you look to find reliable reviews/ratings of hospice care organizations? I need help. Googling isn't helping. Is there somewhere you call? I don't trust the social work services at the hospital my mom is at. Thank you.
Thanks so much for the info. The hospice home care/hospice facility they want to go with is listed on those links, so that makes me feel better about it. The hospital dropped the ball on my brother yesterday about making connections and he didn't let me know, so it was a day for all of us.
Even though a hospice isn't a traditional business, you should check with the Better Business Bureau. They can tell you if there have been other complaints about a particular place.
I would go to my search engine and type in the name of your town and state, then hospice care. That should get you to a page with some options. When Jim and I needed help, we talked to the social worker who was handling our case for Homecare.
The hospital seems to be fixing them up with the nurses they were using since the fall for hospice care, and they left her to develop that bedsore that shouldn't have happened. I don't like any of this.
Well, Jim didn't go into the hospice facility. We had nurses and aides doing daily home visits. The aid came each morning to do personal c are and help with whatever we needed. They'd s spend an hour or two, then I could take over for the rest of the day. I was very fortunate to have training in caring for bedridden patients, so I knew how to arrange things to be most convenient, and I knew about equipment to help prevent bedsores. I could advise you about that if you like.. It's difficult,but with help and support, your brother might be able to handle it.
Thank you for the offer. She has a stage 2 bedsore and it's been treated for about a week now, but will need at least 2 more weeks of treatment, and she'll need to be turned every 2 hours until it heals, and there is no way my brother can handle that and function, so I don't think home hospice care is possible for them for 2 or 3 weeks, and if she lives that long we hope, then we'll need that equipment to keep her from getting another one, and then maybe, hopefully, they can do home hospice. I think she will need to go to the hospice facility for 3 weeks before home. I don't think my brother was aware how dangerous bedsores are and what the care takes, but he does now. So thank you--I will be very grateful to learn what you can teach me about the equipment they'll need.
Yes, once a bedsore happens, it takes professional care to heal it.
Just let me know when she is able to come home and I'll write up a doc with as much ifo as I can think of that will help to make caring for her easier.
There are sites online where you can get things for inhome care that are really good. I had an alternating pressure pad mattress for Jim's bed. It's a vinyl pad that uses air to distribute pressure evenly, and it shifts very gently and gradually so that pressure is relieved at different points under the body, so there isn't too much on any one part at any time. And there are sheepskin pads to go under the hips and shoulders and knees that also help, and heel and elbow protectors that fit over the bony protuberances to protect those.
Keeping the skin clean and dry and using very gentle massage to stimulate blood flow helps too, as does turning the person as frequently as you can, at least every few hours.
There are things to handle linens and other supplies that make it much easier to care for someone who might be incontinent.
I'd be glad to go into detail and help as much as I can. I know most people don't ever need to know the shortcuts and techniques for caring for a sick person, so it's overwhelming when you have to do it.
Here is a site that supplies the alternating pressure pad. You can probably find anything you need there. If she has Medicare, they might pay for some of the things you'd need.
Thanks so much for all the advice, bb. *hugs* She has medicare--she's 82 and has been fighting cancer and chemo for 14 years now. It is almost definitely unlikely she will be going home for home care. She is in a hospice facility with a catheter and port, and since Thursday night, she hasn't been speaking or opening her eyes, just breathing and possibly responding with nods to some nurses questions, or not it's hard to say. The transfer tot eh new hospital wight th e hospice facility took everything out of her. I was up there yesterday and with her for 3 hours, and delivered love from relatives. I hope the nurses are more attentive to her when we are not there. I was there for 2 hours before the nurse told me I could swab her lips when I said I think she may be thirsty--I realized then her mouth movements meant she was and I wish I could have been giving her the comfort of that for the first 2 hours. I hope they are doing it enough. No one thinks she has long now, but no one can say.
*hugs you* I would have taken you up on calling already, bb, as I've been in babble phase, but I've been lacking in time and energy with everything to do, as I know you completely understand. Thank you.
Thank you, bb. Yelp doesn't have anything helpful there, but I'd hate to just rely on yelp for this. They are listed on the listings saraqael sent me, and I feel better about that.
I'm going to look into this tomorrow ... there are many quality-related organizations that measure and publish report cards on quality of care and service. I want to check out some things from work.
Thank you so much, bb! The Hospice of Moorestown VNA (Visiting Nurses Assoc), Moorestown, NJ, and their Visiting Nurses home care is what they are looking into.
I'm going to see if I can find our director of quality and risk management to see if she can point me in some directions. I won't be in the office until this afternoon, though, as I've got a doctor appointment this morning.
There's a reporting system coming up from CMS called CAHPS Hospice (mandated by the ACA). I'll give you the link though be aware it's not going to give you any results yet as it is just now going live. But in case you're interested to get a look at the types of questions it is being designed to answer.
Here's some places to start. It's tough, hospice care has not been as studied with respect to quality/satisfaction as much as acute care facilities, providers, etc.
http://www.nhpco.org/quality (I put this here because it's a big organization but I don't think you'll get to actual ratings here since it eventually points to the CAHPS HOSPICE system which is just getting up and running.
Since DSS investigate abuse complaints against elderly, I would ask to meet with an Adult Protective Services supervisor at a local DSS. Let them know you're hoping to know pertinent questions to ask of a facility & ask whether they could give you any literature so you could do your own research. Really what you're looking for are specific recommendations, I don't know they could give you that but they should point you in the right direction.
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http://www.nhpco.org/resources/choosing-hospice
https://www.caring.com/local/hospices
http://www.nahc.org/HAA/
I will ask my sister (the nurse) if she knows of anything else more specific.
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The hospital seems to be fixing them up with the nurses they were using since the fall for hospice care, and they left her to develop that bedsore that shouldn't have happened. I don't like any of this.
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Just let me know when she is able to come home and I'll write up a doc with as much ifo as I can think of that will help to make caring for her easier.
There are sites online where you can get things for inhome care that are really good. I had an alternating pressure pad mattress for Jim's bed. It's a vinyl pad that uses air to distribute pressure evenly, and it shifts very gently and gradually so that pressure is relieved at different points under the body, so there isn't too much on any one part at any time. And there are sheepskin pads to go under the hips and shoulders and knees that also help, and heel and elbow protectors that fit over the bony protuberances to protect those.
Keeping the skin clean and dry and using very gentle massage to stimulate blood flow helps too, as does turning the person as frequently as you can, at least every few hours.
There are things to handle linens and other supplies that make it much easier to care for someone who might be incontinent.
I'd be glad to go into detail and help as much as I can. I know most people don't ever need to know the shortcuts and techniques for caring for a sick person, so it's overwhelming when you have to do it.
Here is a site that supplies the alternating pressure pad. You can probably find anything you need there. If she has Medicare, they might pay for some of the things you'd need.
http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/home-medical-supplies-and-equipment/ID=359443-tier1
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There's a reporting system coming up from CMS called CAHPS Hospice (mandated by the ACA). I'll give you the link though be aware it's not going to give you any results yet as it is just now going live. But in case you're interested to get a look at the types of questions it is being designed to answer.
http://www.hospicecahpssurvey.org/Content/HomePage.aspx
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http://www.medicare.gov/homehealthcompare/profile.html#vwgrph=1&profTab=1&ID=317048&cmprID=317048&loc=MOORESTOWN%2C%20NJ&lat=39.9688817&lng=-74.948886
https://data.medicare.gov/
http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/Hospice/Medicare_Hospice_Data.html (too high level I think)
http://www.wheretofindcare.com/How-to-Pick-Hospice-Care.aspx
http://www.nhpco.org/quality (I put this here because it's a big organization but I don't think you'll get to actual ratings here since it eventually points to the CAHPS HOSPICE system which is just getting up and running.
https://www.caring.com/local/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&type=hospices&location=moorestown%2C+new+jersey (very sparse data)
https://www.ourparents.com/hospices (very little data on the Moorestown entity)
http://www.bing.com/search?q=compare+hospice+new+jersey&src=IE-TopResult&FORM=IETR02&conversationid=
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