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Originally Posted by retiredguy123
Hospice is not necessarily in a facility. It can be done in your home. You voluntarily forfeit your Medicare Part B benefits in exchange for a specialized Medicare Part A plan that will do nothing to attempt to prolong your life. Hospice is not mandatory. They will not even allow the patient to receive fluids or IV nourishment. My only experience with hospice was with a friend in Virginia. It was a very negative experience because the hospice nurses were rude and totally incompetent and I had to throw them out of my house several times. But, apparently, there are some good hospice nurses and my experience may not be typical.
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Two kinds of Hospice nurses, one will read the room, know the family wants long drawn out care, because family can’t come to agreement. But their job is to keep the patient comfortable not the family.
The other seems aggressive moving the process quickly, sometimes making families uncomfortable, because the patient is in such agony, their first concern is still what is best for their patient.
Hospice nurses don’t need to be thrown out. You express you are uncomfortable with them, ask them to leave. Then call the agency and ask to interview a new nurse. One can always hire a new agency.
In 45 plus years I have met, worked with, an been close friends with over 100 hospice nurses. Their job is one of the hardest in nursing careers, because there is only one outcome, and that’s to bring the patient to a comfortable state, progressing to death, and dealing with family and friends that can’t cope.
My closest friend an anesthesiologist, came unglued at a very good friend she used for a hospice nurse for her mom.
It wasn’t that hospice nurse was wrong, or unkind. My friend just couldn’t come to terms on what was best for her mom. Her MDA, gave her knowledge of process, just not how to cope.