I have posted on here many times and answered questions every now and then. Dad passed away Oct 7th 2013 from Liver Cancer . He was in a hospice facility for 11 days until he died. The day before he was admitted he was in the hospital and was talking,eating and very clear headed but his ammonia levels were high and he had been very combative, not eating and wouldn't take his meds for 4 days at his nursing home. ( He was in for a Psych Evaluation.) The hospice worker talked to me about admitting him instead of returning to the nursing home. I agreed to this and arrangements were made. He was transferred later that day and was alert and in good spirits. The next morning he was unresponsive and stayed that way until he passed. They gave him morphine and ativan around the clock. He never got any water but they did cleanse his mouth and moisten it with swabs. It seemed like he could hear me the first few days because I would shake his shoulder and say "dad". His eyes seemed to be moving under his eyelids and his mouth would move slightly. I did ask about them lowering his dosages so he could wake up a little. The nurse said he was getting a very small dosage already. I just wonder if the drugs made him unresponsive and if less was used he could have ate and drank and lived longer. I know it was time for him to go but I'm kinda puzzled about his going from complete alertness and straight into unresponsiveness so quick. The nurses did a Great job. I myself don't know how they do it. They treated dad like he was their baby. So gentle and compassionate. I was just wondering if anyone else had the feeling that death felt a little rushed once their loved one was placed in Hospice.
And btw..my brothers home hospice nurse..right after he was OD handed me some Lorazepam pills..in case I needed them..I did not report her..but I disposed of them..I know their effects..side affects..and know how dangerous they can be..and from an SNP analysis..know I can't properly metabolize them..same with my brother..besides being illegal for someone not a doctor to give someone meds who is not a doctor..and one never knows potential side affects...but..for the most part..all the home hospice nurses were very attentive to him..including the one who OD him..per the Nurse practicioners drug dosage instructions...not her own decision... with his best interest at heart..with only a few..who were clueless..
It sure seems curious to me that law enforcement hasn't caught on to this epidemic of "murder" yet.
A charge of fraud, which certainly included not putting the patients' care first, which has not yet come to trial, seems flimsy evidence to damn an entire medical and nursing practice.
That's right and Mr.Harris has never and will never be charged with murder, even though it has been proven that they did murder some. He will only be charged with the fraud crimes he committed. They don't care about the weak and vulnerable. After all "they were going to die anyway".
The Congressmen know this, but it's like the old story of the Emperor with no clothes: nobody dares to speak the truth about the matter publicly. They hope that the "obvious goes unseen" by the public. They know it and they are glad for it. They know that the large number of lives ended will help reduce expenditures for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other services to the elderly and disabled."
-Ron Panzer, "Stealth Euthanasia; Health Care Tyranny in America"
Subtitle - "The Government Loves Hospice"
How can it be proven if it hasn't gone to trial.
Please show Panzer's proof--statics from a reputable source would be helpful. You are quoting from a book written by the web-site's owner. That is self-referential. Do you have any training in evaluation of sources or statics?
Please do your own research. Stop relying on me to provide all the answers for you. You can go to the book and there is plenty of proof/resources provided there.
I am glad that you care about nature..as I do...and I do not believe in dumping meds..even otc meds into garbage or toilet...as this goes into the environment..poisons nature..water system...and back into food sources as well...and back into us...
The home hospice nurse per protocol..destroys all left over meds...and needs a witness that it has been done..so it was done in front of me...I am familiar with the pills..and they have markings..and it came straight out of the bottle..she thought she was doing something good for me...but it was not good to do..this is my point...why would I take photos etc.? I suppose In her mind that particular pill was insignificant...but to me...it was a substance I didn't want inside me...so alright..ok..I will say it was Tylenol...
That is what I have been doing. I find no support other than your site.
I also flatter myself that it's a sign of mental independence that when comedians lazily turn to allegations like "in Grrrr! County Mississippi it's illegal to study Statistics" - or whatever improbable bylaw they've managed to dig up from the early 19th century - I now demand further-and-better particulars instead of hooting or gasping with horror on cue.
The whole debate makes my heart heavy. No, not every hospice and not every end of life experience is all it should be. Some will have crossed a line. And professions do close ranks, too: only yesterday the General Medical Council dismissed an appeal for the reinstatement of a Paediatrician who was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter over her grotesque neglect of a learning disabled child from whom she withheld treatment for a simple, but ultimately lethal, gut infection. Note, her professional body was *defending* her, on the grounds that if she were permanently removed from practice it would deter others from admitting to their mistakes. The GMC took the view that this wasn't a mistake so much as an absolute dereliction of the most basic duties, and I dare say they profoundly hoped that there won't be any parallel cases for it to be a precedent for.
But then again, it isn't a matter of any government blithely accepting - let alone actively encouraging - the mistreatment of vulnerable, dying patients. It's a matter of their needing a better answer, if this one's not working. And what is the better answer?
Not giving morphine to a person even if she does have a broken arm, apparently. That was in her best interests... how?
Your story is a lot like Carly Walden's. Her grandmother was being overdosed by a hospice. She revoked hospice, called an ambulance, and a police escort.
It took her a week to wake up from the drug induced coma she was in.
That's been three years ago now, she is still alive and thriving. And, Carly is now a board member of the Hospice Patients Alliance, a Prolife, patient advocate organization, founded by a hospice nurse, turned whistleblower.
And also contact the National Institute of Health and let them know that their information is incorrect according to your findings.
Otherwise, nothing is going to be solved by posting your material on the forums.
I have just learned from a medical mal practice attorney that a nursing license does not permit you to give medical advice.
Only a doctor is lisenced to give medical advice.
If you are diagnosing and prescribing treatments and making recommendations, you are giving medical advice, and this is illegal.
I have seen many doing this in these forums.
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Prolife is a troll who has infested many threads on this forum in order to manipulate people's emotions for the purpose of (in his/her mind) furthering his/her personal political agenda.
If Prolife were truly interested in doing something about this issue, he/she would be busy lobbying legislators and other decision-makers, and wouldn't have the time to post repetitively in a single forum. Prolife is clearly only interested in provoking reactions and disrupting conversations, and is probably enjoying him/herself very much.
In my real life, I've known a couple of "pro-life" (in this case, anti-abortion) people who've gotten kicked out of their local activist group for being problematic and disruptive, so they've taken their energy online to troll people where there are fewer consequences for their actions.
I'm sorry some of the threads are making people's hearts heavy, but it's quite clear things were going fine until Prolife came along to disrupt supportive conversations and drag all of these hospice threads under. If the moderators would ban Prolife's IP address (this site IS supposed to be non-political), these threads would probably return to some kind of normalcy.
Personally, I'm not one bit sorry for mocking Prolife, because he/she is a big faker who goes around making up new accounts (sockpuppets) on AgingCare.com just to troll us all with more obviously fake "testimonies."
Emotional manipulators are among the worst kind of people, and he/she ought to know some of us see right through him/her.
My mom has stage 7 Alzheimer's and while the hospice did bring morphine in the start up kit, I don't give it to her. She is not in pain so why would I? You need to monitor and control the situation. Why would you blindly follow any plan you didn't agree with? Do your homework and then decide what is best.
Mom has been on hospice for 11 months now. I thought they might kick her off because she is still with us and doing as well as can be expected for where she is in the progression of the disease. They say that they will keep helping as long as they can within Medicare guidelines. I love our hospice regulars, the CNA, nurse, social worker and doctor. They all agree with me...I do not want to do anything that will force my mom's failing mind, and therefore her body, to stay on this Earth any longer than it will....I also don't want to force it to leave any earlier than it will. Hospice has been so helpful to have involved as I go through this process with her. And for the record.... She may be here a few years or a few weeks.... When the Lord decides, she will leave.
I've spent years second-guessing myself and "what-if"-ing, after losing my dad and my stepmom, and several beloved pets for that matter. I do understand.
Prolife is a TROLL who has infested many threads on this forum in order to manipulate people's emotions for the purpose of (in his/her mind) furthering his/her personal political agenda.
If Prolife were truly interested in doing something about this issue, he/she would be busy lobbying legislators and other decision-makers, and wouldn't have the time to post repetitively in a single forum.
Prolife is a big faker who goes around making up new accounts (sockpuppets) on AgingCare.com just to troll us all with more obviously fake "testimonies."
Prolife is clearly only interested in provoking reactions and disrupting conversations, and is probably enjoying him/herself very much.
Prolife is obviously a very sad and lonely person with nothing better to do than troll caregivers online.
I urge everyone to remember this when you decide whether or not to engage.
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Please feel free to copy and paste this message wherever/whenever you see Prolife posting, so as to warn others who may get sucked in by his/her trolling.
That said, it is the responsibility of the family member or CG to give permission to hospice- an informed consent needs to be signed prior to hospice service being initiated. It is a delicate balance between medicating enough or overmedicating. No provider can predict the body’s response to any medication. The dying process is complex. Often a dose may be sufficient on one day but given the same dose the next can be too much due to the body’s natural progression into liver or kidney failure that happens with death. Electrolyte changes can occur. Metabolism changes occur.
Hospice is not an exact science. Once you have checked a blood pressure or pulse you need to react to it- which is probably why hospice patients vital signs aren’t checked more frequently.
Hospice is not ordered arbitrarily nor without consult between more than one provider. Usually the hospice patient is documented as being terminally ill determined by medical testing and physician evaluation. The person is determined to be dying and comfort measures are recommended.
I do believe, and this is from my 35+ years of being a RN, that families wait too long to make the decision to enroll their loved one in hospice thus the patient does appear to die faster. I have seen this so many times.
I have also wondered why we can put our pets down with dignity and peace but allow our loved ones to suffer unnecessarily at the end of their life due to the family’s comfort level & not wanting to let go. That’s a bit selfish as like it or not, all of us will die. It’s a natural process.
Prolife’s opinion doesn’t bother me. He/she has the right to feel and express their opinions on hospice. Is it a perfect process? No. Is anything in medicine always perfect? No.
Sure there are episodes of misuse and medication overdose or hospice staff gone awry due to inexperience. Unfortunately perfection is not guaranteed anywhere.
I did choose hospice for my mom when she was end stage, dying, post stroke. Was she overmedicated? I don’t think so- the night she passed (I was asleep in the empty bed at her NH) the nurse spoke with me after and said she did come in to check on my mom and to give her a dose of medication but the nurse stated she did not feel like a dose was necessary at that moment as she assessed my mom not to be in discomfort. So...every hospice provider’s objective is not to automatically overmedicate.
I would choose hospice again for a dying loved one.
Prolife in my opinion should get credit for looking into hospice abuse. I do not like the fact that prolife uses a broad brush to paint all hospice staff as angels of death because IMO they are not. I don’t like the fear he is injecting into a very delicate and personal decision. But nonetheless entering hospice is the kind of decision that should be made weighing both sides, so that’s fine with me. Just please don’t use fear as a tool to block a needed service that allows people to die with dignity and in comfort.
You might want to edit your post and remove your email address. People can contact you through your profile if they want to do so in private.