What were the benefits of going on hospice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People here are mixing up going into a hospice facility with the Medicare specific transition to hospice status.

My FIL was in a hospice facility and it was very soothing for him the only issue was an issue over whether he could still get insulin - the hospice facilities can be very black and white about the no meds but pain killer rules that are not good in certain situations.

My father was on the Medicare hospice status and it was awful. Basically you get no medical care whatso ever except a place that Medicare contracts for which sends a nurse to you 2x a week and you are on your own (at least that was where we wound up). There was zero benefit to my dad and it was very stressful not having access to a doctor as he was dying to make sure we were making him as comfortable as possible - through seizures, temperature and breathing issues etc.

How did your FIL get into a “hospice facility” - my understanding is these are “board and care” places and you must pay out of pocket. For seniors who cannot afford this, and boy they are costly, they will have the #2 scenario you described. This Medicare hospice scenario is exactly what I experienced with my own parent, and I was shocked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People here are mixing up going into a hospice facility with the Medicare specific transition to hospice status.

My FIL was in a hospice facility and it was very soothing for him the only issue was an issue over whether he could still get insulin - the hospice facilities can be very black and white about the no meds but pain killer rules that are not good in certain situations.

My father was on the Medicare hospice status and it was awful. Basically you get no medical care whatso ever except a place that Medicare contracts for which sends a nurse to you 2x a week and you are on your own (at least that was where we wound up). There was zero benefit to my dad and it was very stressful not having access to a doctor as he was dying to make sure we were making him as comfortable as possible - through seizures, temperature and breathing issues etc.

How did your FIL get into a “hospice facility” - my understanding is these are “board and care” places and you must pay out of pocket. For seniors who cannot afford this, and boy they are costly, they will have the #2 scenario you described. This Medicare hospice scenario is exactly what I experienced with my own parent, and I was shocked.

Montgomery hospice has a facility, Casey House.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mom is in memory care. When she was still cognizant she’d say the last thing in the world she’d want for herself is to be in a situation where she didn’t know what was going on around her. And here we are. I’ve struggled psychologically with her care- do I prolong her horrible quality of life by continuing to have them administer her heart, cholesterol and blood pressure drugs? Or do I cease these and let the chips fall where they may?

A few months ago she’d taken a turn and the facility called me to tell me, and asked if I wanted them to call an ambulance. What I didn’t realize they were asking was if it was worth it to treat her. I opted to have them call, my mom had sepsis and would have met her end that way if we hadn’t intervened. I still struggle if I made the right choice. I love her and want the best for her. It’s so hard to be responsible for decisions that literally impact whether another person will live or die.

Make sure you have a DNR in place so EMS doesn’t have to resuscitate her. In my state you have to have a special form from the department of health signed by a doctor saying the patient has a terminal illness and signed by patient or hcpoa

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People here are mixing up going into a hospice facility with the Medicare specific transition to hospice status.

My FIL was in a hospice facility and it was very soothing for him the only issue was an issue over whether he could still get insulin - the hospice facilities can be very black and white about the no meds but pain killer rules that are not good in certain situations.

My father was on the Medicare hospice status and it was awful. Basically you get no medical care whatso ever except a place that Medicare contracts for which sends a nurse to you 2x a week and you are on your own (at least that was where we wound up). There was zero benefit to my dad and it was very stressful not having access to a doctor as he was dying to make sure we were making him as comfortable as possible - through seizures, temperature and breathing issues etc.

Yes. Pp here who posted about hospice being a bad choice for my dad. They barely did anything. Nurse two times a week. And they fired his doctors and there was all sorts of care he couldn’t get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People here are mixing up going into a hospice facility with the Medicare specific transition to hospice status.

My FIL was in a hospice facility and it was very soothing for him the only issue was an issue over whether he could still get insulin - the hospice facilities can be very black and white about the no meds but pain killer rules that are not good in certain situations.

My father was on the Medicare hospice status and it was awful. Basically you get no medical care whatso ever except a place that Medicare contracts for which sends a nurse to you 2x a week and you are on your own (at least that was where we wound up). There was zero benefit to my dad and it was very stressful not having access to a doctor as he was dying to make sure we were making him as comfortable as possible - through seizures, temperature and breathing issues etc.

Yes. Pp here who posted about hospice being a bad choice for my dad. They barely did anything. Nurse two times a week. And they fired his doctors and there was all sorts of care he couldn’t get.

Hospice is a visiting program not caretaking. They provide hygiene help but not caretaking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an ailing father who several doctors have recommended hospice for but my mother doesn't want to because he will likely become ineligible for an expensive medication that improves his quality of life. He is on Medicare.

Currently we have a caregiver coming four hours during the day plus all night. My mother does the caregiving otherwise. He is in lots of pain, on oxygen, trouble breathing, cannot walk, etc.

I'm wondering if anyone could share concretely what kind of benefits they were afforded by switching to hospice. Was it a big help? An improvement in quality of life? Better pain management? If it matters, we are in Montgomery County, Md.
Thanks!

Maybe the doctors are trying to say kindly that's it's time to give up on heroic measures. It doesn't sound like he has a great quality of life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks everyone! My father is not in a place to make his own decisions. He was clear he didn't want his life artificially cut short but it's hard to say how much longer he has with no hospice. I don't know how one might tell he if he is super close to death. He is on oxygen and cannot walk. Oxygen levels fluctuate but other viral signs look okay. Many many smaller diseases but the only thing that looks like it imminently stands to kill him is the pulmonary fibrosis, which although quite bad already, can sometimes be slow progressing. To my very inexperienced eyes he seems close to death but I know some people can live a long time immobile and on oxygen so I don't really know.

Are your parents very religious?

Each family is different but I can't say I'd want to go on if I could no longer make decisions and was in great distress. You are not artificially cutting your life short by reducing drugs/measures - rather it could be argued that artificial measures are prolonging suffering.

[Anonymous]

We get RN visits 3x per week. Early on we got an RN once a week.

[Anonymous]

We currently have Mom enrolled in hospice in a poor Maryland county.

Benefits: Free wheel chair, free hospital bed, free chux or depends, free barrier cream, free thickener (for water), free latex gloves

RN 1-3 times a week, We don't get the CNA's because we have caregivers but they send around a CNA 1-2 times a week to assist with bathing.

NP or MD stops by every 8-12 weeks for reenrollment.

[Anonymous]

12:26 poster here

I forgot to mention we also get social worker and chaplain visits. We had a very nice Haitian American Chaplain stop by on Thursday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an ailing father who several doctors have recommended hospice for but my mother doesn't want to because he will likely become ineligible for an expensive medication that improves his quality of life. He is on Medicare.

Currently we have a caregiver coming four hours during the day plus all night. My mother does the caregiving otherwise. He is in lots of pain, on oxygen, trouble breathing, cannot walk, etc.

I'm wondering if anyone could share concretely what kind of benefits they were afforded by switching to hospice. Was it a big help? An improvement in quality of life? Better pain management? If it matters, we are in Montgomery County, Md.
Thanks!

Death with dignity, management of pain, spiritual support, comfort care. I pray I receive it of necessary when I’m on my way. My mom was under JSSA hospice and we aren’t Jewish. They were okay. I had to manage them a bit near the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an ailing father who several doctors have recommended hospice for but my mother doesn't want to because he will likely become ineligible for an expensive medication that improves his quality of life. He is on Medicare.

Currently we have a caregiver coming four hours during the day plus all night. My mother does the caregiving otherwise. He is in lots of pain, on oxygen, trouble breathing, cannot walk, etc.

I'm wondering if anyone could share concretely what kind of benefits they were afforded by switching to hospice. Was it a big help? An improvement in quality of life? Better pain management? If it matters, we are in Montgomery County, Md.
Thanks!

Death with dignity, management of pain, spiritual support, comfort care. I pray I receive it of necessary when I’m on my way. My mom was under JSSA hospice and we aren’t Jewish. They were okay. I had to manage them a bit near the end.

PP. my mom was under hospice care for 3 years. Does not mean death is imminent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an ailing father who several doctors have recommended hospice for but my mother doesn't want to because he will likely become ineligible for an expensive medication that improves his quality of life. He is on Medicare.

Currently we have a caregiver coming four hours during the day plus all night. My mother does the caregiving otherwise. He is in lots of pain, on oxygen, trouble breathing, cannot walk, etc.

I'm wondering if anyone could share concretely what kind of benefits they were afforded by switching to hospice. Was it a big help? An improvement in quality of life? Better pain management? If it matters, we are in Montgomery County, Md.
Thanks!

No benefit for my Dad. We actually were getting more help from home health care than after he went on hospice. I thought it would be the other way around and would never do it again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an ailing father who several doctors have recommended hospice for but my mother doesn't want to because he will likely become ineligible for an expensive medication that improves his quality of life. He is on Medicare.

Currently we have a caregiver coming four hours during the day plus all night. My mother does the caregiving otherwise. He is in lots of pain, on oxygen, trouble breathing, cannot walk, etc.

I'm wondering if anyone could share concretely what kind of benefits they were afforded by switching to hospice. Was it a big help? An improvement in quality of life? Better pain management? If it matters, we are in Montgomery County, Md.
Thanks!

Death with dignity, management of pain, spiritual support, comfort care. I pray I receive it of necessary when I’m on my way. My mom was under JSSA hospice and we aren’t Jewish. They were okay. I had to manage them a bit near the end.

PP. my mom was under hospice care for 3 years. Does not mean death is imminent.

It has to be within a certain amount of time. My mik was terminated from hospice as they got her stable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People here are mixing up going into a hospice facility with the Medicare specific transition to hospice status.

My FIL was in a hospice facility and it was very soothing for him the only issue was an issue over whether he could still get insulin - the hospice facilities can be very black and white about the no meds but pain killer rules that are not good in certain situations.

My father was on the Medicare hospice status and it was awful. Basically you get no medical care whatso ever except a place that Medicare contracts for which sends a nurse to you 2x a week and you are on your own (at least that was where we wound up). There was zero benefit to my dad and it was very stressful not having access to a doctor as he was dying to make sure we were making him as comfortable as possible - through seizures, temperature and breathing issues etc.

Hospice does not provide that kind of care.