HOSPICE OF THE WESTERN RESERVE, INC

I am deeply disappointed and heartbroken by the treatment my family has received from Hospice of Western Reserve. After my father was discharged from the hospital with a very limited life expectancy, we were told he could not return to the hospice services he had previously been receiving. This decision has left us scrambling to find a new agency during one of the most vulnerable and devastating times of our lives. The idea of my father having to meet new faces and build relationships with unfamiliar people in his final days is beyond upsetting. It feels as though the compassion and commitment we were led to believe Hospice of Western Reserve stands for were completely absent in this situation. Instead of providing comfort and continuity, this decision has added unnecessary stress and heartbreak to an already unbearable time. Families in situations like ours deserve better—much better. I truly hope this agency takes a hard look at their policies and considers the human impact of their decisions. No family should have to go through what we are experiencing right now. I wish I could give 0 stars! Very hurt and disappointed!

Pro I thought it was better than the hospital for a place where people need to be watched. The nurses were super nice and kind. The are cameras in the room, so security seemed good. My dad was given a bath immediately after he was recieved there. I asked a nurse to check my dad's diaper and she did (faster than the Equlid Hospital. Also, the nurse filed my dad's nails. Food looked good and water was available. Beautiful rooms with fish tanks and a person comes in to play a grand piano for clients. Con I asked them to go to a website to play my dad's own music and they said, "only if the files are played on my dad's own cellphone", which gave me the impression they don't know what a website is, gave me low confidence in their aptitude. Again, they are nice people though.

I do not recommend Hospice of the Western Reserve. My brother called Hospice of the Western Reserve so that somebody would "interview" my Mother according to my brother. A lady came to the house at the end of the day on a Friday and asked my Mother questions. I was upset that I didn't have any notice from the Hospice of the Western Reserve prior to her visit because I was in the middle of cooking dinner for my Mother in case she was hungry for a good meal. Then when the lady arrived she said that the Losartan was causing my Mother's low heart rate. My Mother's doctor said that the Losartan was necessary to keep my Mother's blood pressure from going up too much. The lady said that my Mother's doctor did not have the Losartan on her list of medicine. Who was this lady? I told her that her doctor had been refilling the Losartan for years. The woman left and nothing was accomplished. She was going to find out more information, but I was completely and totally confused about what she was telling me. My Mother deserved and needed better care and attention than the lady was providing to her. I really wasn't surprised by her poor service. I did not expect high quality service from her in the first place. I saw problems when my Father had Hospice of the Western Reserve. A hospice nurse gave my Father an antianxiety medicine which made him fall asleep in his chair with his head hung down. The evening caregiver from Homewatch Caregivers of Beachwood made him sleep that way until morning. The caregiver for the morning shift called the EMS so that the men could put him in his bed. I'd like to add that his arms were moving up and down because of the medicine. They were moving while he slept. Also, it is important to note that I was never told that the nurses could come over every two to four hours. Family members need to be aware of extremely important details. I did not like that the main nurse for my Dad was promoting Tylenol over the use of Dilaudid for pain. He had pain. He needed pain medicine. Tylenol does not work as well as Dilaudid for pain. Do your research. Read the reviews. The reviews are written by honest people for a reason. There are better hospices than Hospice of the Western Reserve. There are better nurses and staff. You want the best care and treatment for yourself and for your loved ones.

We worked with the Mentor team for my dad's end of life care. While he only spent about 2 1/2 weeks in Hospice care, my sister and I could not be more satisfied with the care and support that not only our father received but the support these care professionals gave to us too during this time. Care givers were prompt, compassionate, understanding, patient and informative. Primary nurse Amanda; Social Worker Terri; Weekend nurse Lisa; Overnight on call nurse Kevin; Nurse Tara who came after his passing - all were amazing, along with everyone that we spoke with on the phone. They always knew just what Dad needed, and each provided the perfect info and pep talks to my sister and I as well. At a time where we felt lost and were floundering, the Hospice team was there to provide support and lift us back up so that we could give our dad the end of life he wanted, and that means the world to us. Would 100% recommend.

We discovered that our mother had little time left and requested a hospice. We were told several choices and with Mother fading fast I chose Western Reserve with a stipulation that if they didn’t have staff to visit by the evening that I would ask another hospice that was available. Western Reserve responded that they would send someone right away and later that day a Social Worker visited my mother. That was NOT what we expected. The social worker gathered all the admission information but My mother did not receive any nursing care from the hospice until the next day and she died promptly after that. I would have liked my mother to have been evaluated and receiving some comfort medications right away during the little time she had left. Had I known this I would not have used Western Reserve. UPDATE: Hospice of Western Reserve mailed a donation plea to my home in Florida addressed to my mother! Needless to say, I WILL NOT be donating to them.