I truly wish I could say one nice thing about the ...

I truly wish I could say one nice thing about the staff of this facility. Unfortunately I cannot. My sister was at Largo Medical Center and passed away yesterday morning. It was determined that she was terminal and would not be able to sustain like without the support of many tubes and machines. The staff at the hospital told us that once we make the decision to remove her from life support Hospice would be there to help us through this unbelievable painful time.
We did indeed make the incredibly difficult decision to carry out my sisters wishes. That decision was made approximately 4:30 PM. Within the hour we were relieved and down right happy when two staff members walked into my sister s room. One of the first questions they asked was for my sister s insurance card. As soon as my niece gave them the answer that my sister did not have insurance their demeanor instantly changed. I didn t really think much about it because I had heard such great things about Hospice. She explained that it will take about two hours to get the paperwork processed and things started to begin taking my sister off of life support. So we thought by 7:30 pm the process would start. They explained that someone would be with us during this time to help with questions and support. Well things went completely down hill from here. As my grieving niece is holding the hand of her dying mother she is asked to fill out paperwork indicating how much money my sister had in her bank account. Not one word of sympathy is shown to neither myself nor my niece. Not one word is mentioned about bringing in a counselor or a chaplain. After spending ten minutes of filling out this paperwork the staff member leaves. Twenty minutes later she returns and and explains that more paperwork is needed. Again while my niece is holding the hand of her dying mother she is asked to complete more paperwork. Again nothing is said about a counselor or a chaplain. At this time I specifically ask this person to please keep us updated on the progression and/or plan of how things will proceed. I tell her that this is extremely painful and that we just need to know how things will go. She says she will keep us informed on each step of the process. Fifteen minutes later she is back because she didn t know she needed more initials on more paperwork. So again she has to interrupt my extremely emotional niece to get these initials. Now she leaves and we do not see her again for over three hours. I proceed to call the Hospice phone number and ask for this person who was here to help us. After being on hold for a short while I am told that since it is Friday night no one is working and would we like them to send a chaplain. When the staff member finally returns three hours later (9:30 pm). my niece who is filled with so much pain asks where she has been and thought she was there as support. Hospice lady snaps back that she is not a counselor. We dismissed her letting her know we will not be completing anymore paperwork. No one from Hospice ever came back nor was a chaplain ever sent to help us. My niece was unable to handle it and went home at 1:00 AM. I was alone holding my sister s hand when she died at 7:30 am. It was the most painful night of my life.
The reason I wrote this is to hopefully help another family by telling them to not depend on this facility for support and compassion, unless you can write them a check.