VITAS Healthcare

I wish I had read this reviews before putting my father with this organization… we were at Florida medical center in Broward, and this people offered us heaven: a comfortable room where we could say goodbye to our dad, maybe even get him strong enough to bring him home to die… they told us that after pulling off the respirator my dad would be constantly monitored by a trained nurse who would administer drugs to ease any pain and suffering… well the sad truth is that they pulled the respirator of my dad and left us alone (no monitoring to ensure no suffering) then they transferred us to a room — not a hospice room, but a regular room where there was another patient (alive and kicking) … so while or father who fought cancer valiantly was taking his last breaths surrounded by his daughters and wife –ALONE,-next to us there was a guy talking with nurses and guests and watching TV. After my dad took his last breath, I had to remove his oxygen mask and any other equipment he had on, no nurse or doctor was there to verify he was indeed deceased. No condolences, nothing! They all disappeared like rats! Talk about dignity!!! The sad part is that, now while I’m morning the loss of my father, the only thing that comes to my mind this this and not all the wonderful memories we shared.
My advice, if you are looking for a dignified departure look anywhere but VITAS. They are awful and heartless.

This company originally started out as a non-​profit, but the founders sold out to Chemed, the parent company of Roto-​Rooter, in 2004. In my personal experience with this company, it was my observation that the main driver of this company was the company’s profitability, not the compassionate care of the patient and family. They made the last week of my family member’s life more miserable for me, instead of making it easier. They did not listen to what the Dr. or I were saying and their only objective was to get the patient out of the hospital in order to lower their costs, even though my family member was not stable at the time. When my family member passed, they disappeared and provided zero support over the next days when I really needed it. Maybe the non-​profit hospices are better, but the experience with this company has soured my view of the hospice business. And leave no doubt, it is a business.

My husband’s doctor chose Vitas, Miami, fl. I only wish he had left the choice up to me. All these people did was supply medication. The nurses were of little help to us, as a matter fact, all but the RN were of very poor professional quality. But the most horrific experience I suffered at their hands was the fact that the day my husband of 58 yrs went home to be with Jesus. As I sat in complete shock, when the funeral people came for him I was too devastated to remember to remove his wedding ring. The hospice people had gathered near me chatting among themselves doing their blasted paperwork which they were doing for hours every time any of their nurses and social workers arrived at our house. Their duty at that time was to advise me to remove his ring. They did not do the most important thing that was necessary at that time. As a result, the ring was lost or most probably stolen. This has literally destroyed me because at this time I feel that I lost him twice. I offered a reward of $ 1000, no questions asked, but no one has come forward. Vitas hospice should definitely be avoided at all cost if one is looking for caring professional people who put the patient and spouse first rather than the money they receive from the insurance company.

My mother was in Vitas – no dignity or respect
heartbreaking

Tough way to spend my beautiful mothers last days, extremely disorganized and unprofessional most of the «head nurses» have no clue what the patient is taking or needs because they either don’t read the reports or assess the patient. Missed medication doses mom was in extreme pain. Im 22 and my mom is dying and vitas can not even keep her out of pain which is the reason we came to them in the first place. They constantly argue with us in front of my mom which makes me more angry then u would ever imagine. I personally think the entire company should be reviewed by the government and I would never recommend this company to anyone ever. I hope this saves other people and families from dealing with these people. My mom is one of the most amazing caring and understanding people in the world and does not deserve any of what has gone on. She will rest in peace regardless, I hope the management will be able to do the same.

My grandmother passed away in Feb. of 2011. The hospital she was at recommend Vitas Hospice Care when it became evident that her health would not improve. After some consideration we choose Vitas. I regret having chosen Vitas Healthcare. Vitas made the last days my family and I had with my grandmother more difficult and painful than those days already were.
Most of the initial information we received from Vitas representatives was inaccurate and it quickly became obvious that Vitas was more interested in providing the cheapest possible care than in my grandmothers comfort or dignity.
We were warned by some of the nurses and hospital staff that were not connected to Vitas that this would happen but the full extent of the bully treatment was surprising.
Day 1: Vitas initially told us that my grandmother would not be moved from the comfort of the hospital setting she was in until she was completely stable and that the strong medications she was receiving to keep her pain-​free would not be changed. We were also told that once she was stable she would be moved to a Vitas facility within a different hospital were she would be very comfortable and could stay for the remainder of her time. The first representative we met presented us pictures of the very comfortable and spacious Vitas facility. So we signed the papers turning grandma’s care over from the hospital she was in to Vitas.
Day 2: A doctor from the hospital tells us that my grandmother is not stable and should not be moved yet, hours later a vitas representative tells us that my grandmother will be moved the next day and that she will only be able to stay at the Vitas facility for 3 to 4 days, after that she will be moved to a «Home» where she would not receive the morphine she needed.
My family and I were terribly disturbed by all these new claims. We began trying to make arrangements and trying to speak to someone at Vitas that could explain why all the initial plans had changed.
From that point on it became a battle against Vitas to keep my grandmother comfortable and in dignified circumstances. Conversations with Vitas became a mix of apologies for poor service and rude representatives with constant questions about our willingness to move grandma in the next few hours regardless of her current condition.
Grandma passed away before any moves had to be made.
Vitas made a painful situation much worse. I recommend never using their services.

I recently submitted a formal request via the VITAS web site to work as a volunteer. Nearly two weeks passed and I heard nothing. So, I called the Chicagoland NW facility to further inquire. I was told to leave a message for the Volunteer Services Manager, which I did. Another week passed and, again, I heard nothing. I decided to try once more and was told by the receptionist to «just go to the web site.» I told her I’d already tried that and would prefer to speak with someone directly. She promptly put me into the voicemail system for the Volunteer Services Manager. At this point, I was making my third attempt to assist with administrative tasks and sit with hospice patients for free. In our current economic environment, I was perplexed by the lack of follow-​up to say the least. I wasn’t hoping for a parade, merely a return phone call and an opportunity to give back to my community.
Well, evidently, the third time is the charm. Because when I arrived home from work that evening I had a message from VITAS on my machine. I was so excited – I was finally going to hear more about their volunteer program and, perhaps, take the first steps toward working with hospice patients.
Little did I know. The message was from the Volunteer Services Manager, but she was less than welcoming. She started by saying, «Yeah, I got your message. I got your info from the internet, as well. I sent you an email about that, but you probably didn’t get it.» (She’s right. I didn’t get her email because the one and only email she sent was sent after leaving me that voicemail message. So when she said she sent an email, what she *meant* was she was *planning* to send an email in the future. And when she said I probably didn’t get it, she was right again. Since, as far as I can tell, you can’t receive an email that hasn’t been written yet.) She went on to say, «We’d love to have you volunteer with us,» then she snickered and continued, «but we’d certainly want to know why you aren’t volunteering with your own employer first. I’m sure they’d want to know, too. But I guess you can explain that when we talk.»
I have to explain that? What?
Her message went on a bit, continuing to imply that I was somehow being underhanded or falsely representing myself or being a bad employee or God knows. Anyway, I was surprised and saddened by her response. I can’t imagine why she would assume I don’t volunteer for my current employer (a local hospital). I further can’t imagine why on earth it would matter. Would my time spent with VITAS be any less productive or helpful?
I’ve researched VITAS and I’ve heard good things about the level of care they provide their patients. I’m confident that my experience with the business/​volunteer side does not represent VITAS as a whole. I decided to post my experience on Unilocal (on the VITAS corporate page) so that their leadership team can decide for themselves if this is how they wish to conduct business.

Talk about a gloomy subject, but I figure it’s important to share my experience.
A family member of mine got to the point in their life that Hospice was the best thing for them. This organization was recommended to us by a doctor and they did an excellent job.
Through the whole process they were very considerate while at the same time being professional.
If anyone is in the difficult position that they need this type of service, these folks are excellent.