When a loved one is referred to hospice or palliative care, be wary and stay alert! Better yet, evaluate beforehand with the following checklist:
Who is Dr. Ira Byock?
Pushing stealth euthanasia cannot be made acceptable by opposing the legalization of assisted suicide!
Vulnerabilities in Hospice Care
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) monitors the care provided by hospice programs.
OIG reports that some Medicare beneficiaries were seriously harmed when hospices provided poor care or failed to take action in cases of abuse. Get more details here.
If you have any concerns about hospice care that a loved one is receiving, go to: Know Your Rights, Take Action for help in addressing these issues.
To help prevent the possibility of concerns with hospice care, before choosing a hospice, use the Hospice Questions found under Resources on this web site.
HERE’S WHAT I LEARNED WHILE HELPING A FRIEND IN HOSPICE
HERE’S WHAT I LEARNED WHILE HELPING A FRIEND IN HOSPICE:
1. A patient’s advance directives and treatment wishes may be disregarded.
2. Alert patient advocates at the bedside 24/7 are essential.
When John began to need more help, he received in-home hospice care. The nurse seemed to be caring and respectful of John’s faith, but she made statements (reported to me by John) that caused me to question if that was truly the case. Also, the hospice social worker (Paul) became very angry with me for not persuading John to sign a DNR/DNI (do-not-resuscitate/do-not-intubate order) early on. All of the usual scare tactics were employed (“They’ll pound on you, they’ll break your ribs,” et cetera).
A FAMILY MAY BE THE ONLY “HOSPICE” TEAM NEEDED
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