VITAS Healthcare

Steph B.

My mother was on hospice care for the last three months. Before she was completely housebound, Vitas assisted her in finding resources she did not know existed or was eligible for, such as transportation and meal delivery. They gave her information and choices about her end of life care. They thought of things we did not. As things progressed, she had nurses and aides visiting in the home a couple of times a week. This was a relief to me, as I live in California and could not be there to help. My Mom's team went above and beyond to help her and to keep me informed of her progress. I was able to visit with her before she passed away. I met three team members and witnessed their interaction in person, They treated my mom with patience and dignity. The way they talked with her, I could tell they had spent time getting to know her as a person. She asked them questions about their families, and they knew all about me when I arrived. Nurses, aides, social workers...yes, they get paid to do their job. But some people just do their jobs mechanically, either because they don't like their work or because they see too much loss to become attached to everyone they meet. This was not the case here. I would like to thank Gail, Laurie, TT and the rest of the Melbourne Vitas staff for helping our family. (no last names because I did not ask their permission to name them publicly) If you ever have a need for hospice care, these are the people to call. It is not an easy thing to go through, but the help they gave us was invaluable,

livindream2915

The people at Vitas are very helpful and friendly. The only problem I have had is sometimes one person gets the information, but others in the office do not so I've had to email documents to them various times before the right person receives it.

Provider Response

Linda114821550

My mom passed away about two weeks ago, but we had hospice care for her. We took care of her at home, and we had hospice come in. I would recommend Vitas. They provide care for people who want to be at home when they're ill. They were great people. They came in everyday, and when my mother was really ill, they provided 24-hour service. They were wonderful. They were very wonderful loving people. They're very good. They would provide everything you need. We have used them for seven weeks.

Provider Response

Hota Pay

We used VITAS in Merritt Island when my mother-in-law needed it and they were great. So naturally, we chose them again for my father this time in Winter Park. From the beginning this were very disorganized and at one point a nurse/aide gave my Dad an overdose of medication. We had some chats with the case manager and she did her best to get a regular schedule and help us understand how to utilize the nurses/aides. We had two great nurses/aides, but the rest were sub-par and their attitude towards taking care of my father was less than excited. Our official nurse was a heavy smoker and she reeked of old smoke when she entered the house and even my Dad - who was sleeping nearly all day at this point - even asked her to leave. How can you be a Hospice Nurse and smoke like that? Crazy!! Anyway, the doctor was great and so was the case manager, and those two nurse/aides that helped explain many things to us that probably should have happened much earlier in the process.

Provider Response

Friday 13th

My father was given 4-6 months by his two oncologists . A few days he was admitted to the IPU crisis center for pain management . The plan was for him to get appropriate and adequate pain relief and then come back to my home . The radiation treatment he received earlier would have begun taking effect by then and he could get off the mind altering pain pills he was taking once the was feeling the full effect of pain relief the radiation was to provide. He died 5 days later . The only reason I am giving Vitas two stars is because there some outstanding and caring nurses there . I am still waiting for a full accounting from the manager , Wendy .

Daughter B

I wish I had read the reviews before letting this company anywhere near my mom. I believe their actions were criminal. They provided 24 hour crisis care to get my mothers blood sugars under control, but she ended up in the hospital with a bs reading of 620....we looked at the meter and 6 times during the evening she was tested and meter read HI, and nothing was done... Everyone there is quick to blame someone else. All they were worried about was getting a DNR signed, even though there wasn't a heart problem. The next time she had a reading of 25 and they called to see what to do, like I'm a doctor...This company needs to be investigated, because I don't want anyone else to go through this. Sadly mom passed and I am left wondering if she would still be here if it weren't for them...

Provider Response

peakaboo

The nurses attidues where great, they where on top of things, clean facility. makes you feel like your welcome at home with loving arms

Provider Response

lanewell2

I signed up my father because they have an office in Barefoot Bay. It has been a continual nightmare: they didn't consider my, or my mother's, life at all. All they wanted was to give us a bunch of supplies and equipment we don't need -- obviously to run up the Medicare bill. Never show up when they say they will, people show up whenever they want making my life completely impossible. I just fired them and it will only be after a lot of research that I sign up with another provider. I cannot say strongly enough: stay away!

Maggie Pie

Run – keep running and never look back. I am begging all of you to research your local hospices carefully because after my recent tragedy I heard many horrific stories about this company. The care is negligent, the staff is uncaring, and the management is lacking. I honestly do not think this company cares anything about providing health care much less hospice care as it appears they are focused on getting you enrolled so they can make a buck. Before admission they will ring your phone off the hook and use every trick in the book to get you to sign up but once they reel you in; hook, line, and sinker it all goes down hill. Sadly you will be left with no support and hoping for help. When you complain they will offer to place your family member at their hospice unit, which is a dirty, smelly, dump. The nursing home it is connected to is actually cleaner and smells better. The hospice side had trash and dirty linen piled up in the hallway. The staff at the unit does nothing but complain about each other and as far as I can tell the secretary runs the place. All the employees appear miserable and continuously bicker about the lack of management. Sadly this dump needs some serious oversight. Staff yell at each other in the hallways, they did not bring my father his meals for two days because his paperwork was lost or something. I finally walked to the kitchen and requested some food. He kept complaining of being hungry and asking for snacks. I sat with my father for 24 hours straight and neither he nor his roommate received food. I had to complain multiple times. I do not believe his roommate was ever fed even though I kept telling people he had not eaten. Someone sat a tray in front of him, did not feed him, and after 30 minutes took it away untouched. My father developed a sore within three days, became dehydrated, and his kidneys shut down. I demanded he be sent to the hospital. I was told that my actions probably saved his life. I took him off this program. Even though he is considered chronically ill it does not mean I want to speed up his death. This is not hospice care and I agree with the previous post – this company should be shut down. Where is the agency that inspects these places and how do they leave this company in business. Shame on anyone or any doctor who recommends this company. Attorneys you should all line up and solicit people for negligent stories about this so-called hospice program.

BethanyJane

Words cannot possibly express how horrible my experience was with this company. If you care about your loved one you will look elsewhere for hospice care. After the admission and the long selling pitch you will NEVER see your nurse without having to call repeatedly and beg for care. The bath girl was suppose to come out daily but we only saw her three to four times over a four week period. Do not expect to receive any of the support you need. This is not hospice care, it is not comfort care, and it certainly is not compassionate. The employee who came out to see my mother complained of being over worked, felt unappreciated, and at least two people told me they were working short because people keep quitting. I went online to look up information on how to reach someone at this company’s home office because attempts to complain locally ended in unanswered return calls and noticed these people are under criminal investigation. It serves them right because I feel the lack of care they provided my mother resulted in an agonizing death, which could have been prevented if the nurse was able to respond to us in a timely manner. So sad to feel this way about an organization that should be in business to help people.

Caring75901950

We had Vitas Hospice Care for my parent. They're wonderful, very caring and very professional. It was nice to have medical staff that actually cared about the patient. They're also very supportive of the family. They even came to the funeral today. I would definitely recommend them to others.

kellyrcooper

Vitas was 'caring' for my grandmother in a 24/7 capacity. This was palliative, not end-of-life care - or at least it was until she had to be hospitalized for renal failure due to a complete lack of care. She was so dehydrated she had severe bowel obstruction, a severe UTI and was in renal failure when my mother called 911 - something the Vitas 'caregiver' said she could not do without manager approval. There was a significant amount of blood in her urine for over 24 hours and the signs of dehydration are some of the easiest to spot. In my opinion Vitas is responsible for nearly killing my grandmother. This was a failure of several people over 4 days, so it's not even just one person's failure. This place is a joke and deserves to be fully investigated by every health agency in the area

ritadita

Terrible. The care was lousy. Nobody was professional. Too hurried. Wasn't one person that knew what the other was doing. A so-called bath was only 2-3mins and the nurses never addressed skin issues on buttocks except maybe once in a year. Patient wants were not accepted.. I will not ever have vitas again and I will never recommend vitas to anyone

Provider Response

Rachie

I had a brief experience with Vitas Hospice of Melboune, FL when a dear family member who was a resident at the Brookshire Home was at the end of his life. I was priviledged to meet Monique, Marva and Jolene who assisted with his hospice care. I am an ICU RN and I observed competence and compassion from these nurses and caregivers---not just for Mr. Gosnell but for his wife, his grandaughter Dana and other family members. Many thanks to these wonderful staff members who assisted this family through difficult times. They certainly are an asset to your organization.

familyman

The care was too aggressive. Our family felt they dictated to us their plan instead of our sisters wishes.

Provider Response

RoobyDooby

Awhile ago I lost two dear friends to cancer. Their family had chosen VITAS Hospice to care for them thru the difficult last weeks. This was my first experience with any type of hospice care. I was very impressed with the professionalism of the VITAS staff. Their loving and calming ways were so much appreciated by all of us who were devastated to be losing our dear friends. The nursing staff was very knowledgable and efficient. The Pastor who came to visit often had such a wonderfully calm way of dealing with those of us who were having trouble dealing with all of it. I would recommend VITAS of Brevard to any family in an end-of-life situation.