(Snippets from the frontline)
Choosing a hospice agency
You can’t kick the tires, look under the hood, nor take a hospice agency for a test drive.
Online, you can crowd-source, or sift through oversight organizations like Medicare (CMS), The Joint Commission, and your state department of public health or attorney general. Better yet, ask a trusted reliable doctor or experienced friend for a referral.
Make sure you have several potential hospice agencies to choose from, and ask these questions:
- How long have you been in business?
- Who owns the company?
- What medical experience does the owner have to run a hospice agency?
- How often will nurses visit?
- Will prescribed medication be continued?
- What in-home care will be provided and how often?
- Will medicine to treat pain and suffering be readily available?
- Can the patient’s personal physician be involved in care and have input?
- Under what condition can a patient be transferred to a hospital?
- Are they under investigation, or have complaints lodged against them?
You can’t take a test drive, but you can make the road smoother for your loved one by kicking the tires and looking under the hood.
Finding a quality hospice agency will allow those at end-of-life to die with dignity.
Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D.
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