The Good News And The Bad News About Hospice

The good news is that I was just in Scottsbluff, Nebraska and their hospice program is doing such a great job of providing people with the option of a good death that 46% of their dying patients are dying with the help of hospice. Amazing. Nationwide the average is 33%-38% with some states as low as 14%. I am even more impressed with what is happening in Nebraska since they are covering 9000 square miles. I know local hospices in Los Angeles that are struggling to cover their few hundred square miles. Usually those who live in rural communities are limited by the minimal medical services that are available. Nebraska has found a way to move beyond those limitations and to get people what they need. I congratulate the hospice workers of Nebraska.

The bad news is that not every hospice is the same. I was told about a hospice in another state that was providing terrible care. They weren’t using universal precautions to prevent infections from spreading to other family members, were putting the patient at risk when transferring the disabled patient and were not calling the family back when they called to complain. Like any industry, there are good and bad hospices and good and bad employees. If you are on hospice and you don’t think you are getting the care you need or they are not being respectful and responsive, change hospice providers. The bad hospice I just mentioned tells people that they can’t change their hospice provider for 90 days. That is a lie. You can change any healthcare provider any day. You are never locked in.

There are many types of hospices. There are inpatient hospices which are part of hospitals, inpatient hospices that are in their own building, for profit hospices, not for profit hospices and volunteer hospices. Any of these can provide good, loving care and most do everyday. It is not the type of hospice but the people running it and working in it that makes the difference.