I think my hubby needs hospice, please help - Page 6

goldensrbest · ‎03-10-2010

@mistriTsquirrel wrote:
@Kachina624 wrote:
It is the patients doctor, who is familiar with his medical condition, who makes the referral to hospice. There is of course the expectation that the patients condition is terminal. It's hard to imagine this man has been seen by a doctor and something wasn't done to address his condition. He certainlyly should be seen in some facility ER now on an emergency basis. He could be seen at the nearest ER, then transfered if necessary but do it now.
@Kachina624

You'd be surprised. My dad was suffering greatly, but was in such denial about his condition that we relied on his oncologists to make the call on when to involve hospice. His primary oncologist made the decision to send his nurse practitioner over to the hospital early in the morning to tell my dad that hospice was his best option. He neglected to inform my mother or I that he was going to do this. So my mother got a call from my dad, crying, telling her that his doctors had given up on him. The doctor waited until a week before my dad died to do this, and he didn't even bother to contact us so that one of us could be there with him when he was told. I made my way to the hospital a.s.a.p., but we should've been given the option to be there with him when he was told. He was beside himself. He still wanted to fight the cancer, even though the treatments were not working. He felt betrayed by his doctors when they referred him to hospice. That is why we as family members did not want to push for hospice, because we knew he would feel betrayed by whichever family member had brought it up. We relied on his doctors to help us with that, and they didn't handle the situation correctly.

My husband ,just did not want to admit he was dying, i found this very hard to understand, he was at the facility one day ,they tried to have him walk with help just a small length, day two,and three he could walk to his bathroom by day 5 he was in the bed all the time, it took about 5 weeks before he died, it was just terrible, he literally starved too death,he could not eat anything for 12 days.

When you lose some one you L~O~V~E, that Memory of them, becomes a TREASURE.

DiAnne · ‎09-22-2010

I think hospice is wonderful thing. I was in the process of getting my mother on hospice when she passed away. Just an interesting note. I had a neighbor who was a physician and in kidney failure. He came home from hospital and went on hospice. When they took him off of all the medications the other doctors had prescribed for him he got better. He went off hospice and had a couple of good years, he took vacations, etc. before he passed away.

Evie2004 · ‎09-09-2010

@pitdakota wrote:
@Evie2004 wrote:
Dori, since you are with your family now, please ask their help in finding a hospice, preferably a not-for-profit one, to come & evaluate your husband THIS weekend..this should be done by an RN or LSW..hospices respond 24-7.
You do not HAVE to have a Dr for the referral..if the nurse or social worker feels he qualifies for hospice care, there will be a hospice medical director (Dr) who will admit him to the program, order meds & any equipment he may need for home hospice care.Please don't wait much longer for this evaluation visit. As soon as his needs are managed, you will be able to recouperate & be able to help care for him. I am sorry you are having to go through this, but it does sound like hospice care will be the answer to your prayers..take care.

_________________________________________________

@Evie2004, Hospice does require a phyisican's order. There is a difference between Hospice and palliative care facilities.

Here is a link to their website and the FAQs:
http://comforthospice.com/frequently-asked-questions/

From their website:
Q: How does a patient sign up for hospice?
A: A patient or family member can call the hospice office directly for more information. Admission to hospice requires a doctor’s order and an evaluation by a registered nurse. The evaluation can take place at the patient’s home, hospital, nursing home, or assisted living facility. All services and treatments would be coordinated with the patient’s own physician and the hospice medical director.

I believe my post stated that you do not need a Dr's order for the REFERRAL, anyone can make a request for a referral..the hospice's Medical Director is the admitting Dr, & manages the patient's care while under hospice care. I retired from hospice & do know the difference between hospice & palliative care.

Evie2004 · ‎09-09-2010

@pitdakota wrote:
@Evie2004 wrote:
Dori, since you are with your family now, please ask their help in finding a hospice, preferably a not-for-profit one, to come & evaluate your husband THIS weekend..this should be done by an RN or LSW..hospices respond 24-7.
You do not HAVE to have a Dr for the referral..if the nurse or social worker feels he qualifies for hospice care, there will be a hospice medical director (Dr) who will admit him to the program, order meds & any equipment he may need for home hospice care.Please don't wait much longer for this evaluation visit. As soon as his needs are managed, you will be able to recouperate & be able to help care for him. I am sorry you are having to go through this, but it does sound like hospice care will be the answer to your prayers..take care.

_________________________________________________

@Evie2004, Hospice does require a phyisican's order. There is a difference between Hospice and palliative care facilities.

Here is a link to their website and the FAQs:
http://comforthospice.com/frequently-asked-questions/

From their website:
Q: How does a patient sign up for hospice?
A: A patient or family member can call the hospice office directly for more information. Admission to hospice requires a doctor’s order and an evaluation by a registered nurse. The evaluation can take place at the patient’s home, hospital, nursing home, or assisted living facility. All services and treatments would be coordinated with the patient’s own physician and the hospice medical director.

I believe my post stated that you do not need a Dr's order for the REFERRAL, anyone can make a request for a referral..the hospice's Medical Director is the admitting Dr, & manages the patient's care while under hospice care. I retired from hospice & do know the difference between hospice & palliative care.

Deanie · ‎03-09-2010

@Kachina624 I could not have said it better than you did. There is something strange here.

Evie2004 · ‎09-09-2010

@KingstonsMom wrote:
@K9buddy wrote:
I believe Hospice will administer pain meds through IVs.
@K9buddy

I'm not sure if it's the same in hospices in all states, but my brother who was in a critical car accident (which I mentioned in an earlier post on this thread), ultimately did not survive his traumatic brain injuries and 6 months later was sent to a Hospice facility.

At the time of his arrival there, he was receiving nourishment from a feeding tube and pain meds via IV, but those were all removed, and they used only morphine 'patches' for pain. Nothing IV or IM.

When we questioned them re: the delivery method of pain meds (obviously by IV or IM would be stronger and a quicker relief), we were told that they only use 'non-invasive' pain relief methods and since he could not swallow, that only left the patches.

As I mentioned, this may not be how all hospices treat pain, but it was in my personal experience in my area.

A very common way of administering pain & anxiety meds is sub-lingual, under the tongue. Foley catheters are also usually removed with hospice care.

goldensrbest · ‎03-10-2010

Hospice care is not always as much help as some seem to think it is, we were very upset with what they said they would help with, i even asked what happens if in the night i need help with him, they said they would not come,one hour a day is it.

When you lose some one you L~O~V~E, that Memory of them, becomes a TREASURE.

pitdakota · ‎03-16-2010

@Evie2004 wrote:
@pitdakota wrote:
@Evie2004 wrote:
Dori, since you are with your family now, please ask their help in finding a hospice, preferably a not-for-profit one, to come & evaluate your husband THIS weekend..this should be done by an RN or LSW..hospices respond 24-7.
You do not HAVE to have a Dr for the referral..if the nurse or social worker feels he qualifies for hospice care, there will be a hospice medical director (Dr) who will admit him to the program, order meds & any equipment he may need for home hospice care.Please don't wait much longer for this evaluation visit. As soon as his needs are managed, you will be able to recouperate & be able to help care for him. I am sorry you are having to go through this, but it does sound like hospice care will be the answer to your prayers..take care.

_________________________________________________

@Evie2004, Hospice does require a phyisican's order. There is a difference between Hospice and palliative care facilities.

Here is a link to their website and the FAQs:
http://comforthospice.com/frequently-asked-questions/

From their website:
Q: How does a patient sign up for hospice?
A: A patient or family member can call the hospice office directly for more information. Admission to hospice requires a doctor’s order and an evaluation by a registered nurse. The evaluation can take place at the patient’s home, hospital, nursing home, or assisted living facility. All services and treatments would be coordinated with the patient’s own physician and the hospice medical director.

I believe my post stated that you do not need a Dr's order for the REFERRAL, anyone can make a request for a referral..the hospice's Medical Director is the admitting Dr, & manages the patient's care while under hospice care. I retired from hospice & do know the difference between hospice & palliative care.

_________________________________________________

Hi @Evie2004, thanks for the clarification. I am sleep deprived and just totally missed the word referral in your post.

But if you see this and come back....I do have a question. Given the fact that the OP states her husband received care in Florida, but they just returned back to New York....could the doc in Florida complete the attending physician's certification form for Hospice? There might not be a need for them to complete the form and it is just my own curosity...but I did wonder if they could complete that form to expedite the referral.

I know there have been several lawsuits over that attending physician's certification form for Hospice and I was just curious if the a hospice medical director would want medical records from Florida before certifying the patient for admission. This doesn't specifically pertain to the OP's situation but I found myself asking that question. Thanks!

* Freedom has a taste the protected will never know *

Evie2004 · ‎09-09-2010

@pitdakota wrote:
@Evie2004 wrote:
@pitdakota wrote:
@Evie2004 wrote:
Dori, since you are with your family now, please ask their help in finding a hospice, preferably a not-for-profit one, to come & evaluate your husband THIS weekend..this should be done by an RN or LSW..hospices respond 24-7.
You do not HAVE to have a Dr for the referral..if the nurse or social worker feels he qualifies for hospice care, there will be a hospice medical director (Dr) who will admit him to the program, order meds & any equipment he may need for home hospice care.Please don't wait much longer for this evaluation visit. As soon as his needs are managed, you will be able to recouperate & be able to help care for him. I am sorry you are having to go through this, but it does sound like hospice care will be the answer to your prayers..take care.

_________________________________________________

@Evie2004, Hospice does require a phyisican's order. There is a difference between Hospice and palliative care facilities.

Here is a link to their website and the FAQs:
http://comforthospice.com/frequently-asked-questions/

From their website:
Q: How does a patient sign up for hospice?
A: A patient or family member can call the hospice office directly for more information. Admission to hospice requires a doctor’s order and an evaluation by a registered nurse. The evaluation can take place at the patient’s home, hospital, nursing home, or assisted living facility. All services and treatments would be coordinated with the patient’s own physician and the hospice medical director.

I believe my post stated that you do not need a Dr's order for the REFERRAL, anyone can make a request for a referral..the hospice's Medical Director is the admitting Dr, & manages the patient's care while under hospice care. I retired from hospice & do know the difference between hospice & palliative care.

_________________________________________________

Hi @Evie2004, thanks for the clarification. I am sleep deprived and just totally missed the word referral in your post.

But if you see this and come back....I do have a question. Given the fact that the OP states her husband received care in Florida, but they just returned back to New York....could the doc in Florida complete the attending physician's certification form for Hospice? There might not be a need for them to complete the form and it is just my own curosity...but I did wonder if they could complete that form to expedite the referral.

I know there have been several lawsuits over that attending physician's certification form for Hospice and I was just curious if the a hospice medical director would want medical records from Florida before certifying the patient for admission. This doesn't specifically pertain to the OP's situation but I found myself asking that question. Thanks!

Good question..hopefully, they brought some medical records with them, esp since she said he did receive treatments (I assume chemo) in Fl to support his diagnosis. It should be fairly easy with that information available. It sounds like he is cognitively able to decide if he wants no more treatments & does want hospice care. Hopefully he has a living will & durable power of attorney for his health care (as we all should).