Great Lakes Home Health and Hospice East Lansing, MI

My Mom was needing help with caring for my Dad so she called Great Lakes Caring. Rarely did they keep their appointments so my Mom would just do it herself which was very hard on her. We finally went somewhere else. They are no help.

My husband is currently in the hospice program. Our first week we were basically left to our own devices, No medications or supplies were ordered until our 2nd week when the nurse came in, I feel like we are some kind of inconvenience to them, I have been trying to get a hold of the the so called social worker for almost two weeks, When I call they say "I'll send and e-mail- " of course no results. I feel like I'm the only person who even cares, What's the point of even having hospice if they supply you with a bed and gloves and basically tell you they'll be in once a week to check on you, Our third week we actually finally had a bath aid twice a week, Of course they are pleasant but dismissive, You may as well keep your concerns to yourself,

My mother was receiving hospice through Great Lakes Valley. My brother and I both live about 2 hours away from our mother and met with hospice once to determine my mother's care. My mother's nurses had to continually call hospice to come out and make her more comfortable. They did not come out on a regular basis as they told us they would. When my mother was actively dying, hospice had not called any family to tell us this. Her nurses were told they would but when no family were present, one nurse took the time to call us (again, we never got a call from hospice). Had this nurse not called, I would not have been there for her final moments. As it turned out, my brother got caught in traffic and he missed his final moments with his mother. Hospice at Great Lakes NEVER called. They never called to ask family how we were coping with a dying mother, never called to say she was actively dying, never called to provide updates, never called after she died. I had called several times to social work, case manager but they never connected me with a care provider who actually knew my mother. As a healthcare provider working for several hospital systems in Indianapolis, I have strongly encouraged our social workers, case managers, nursing staff to consider using other hospice providers as it seems Great Lakes truly is a business and less of a nurturing provider of end of life care as they claim. Research and reconsider alternative companies.

Great Lakes' provided services for my father for only a few days before he passed but I was impressed with how quickly they provided caregivers and additional support. Like every organization, it's the individual people who ultimately make a difference. While the first two caregivers that arrived were adequate, it was the overnight caregiver that made it a 5 star experience. Kershima immediately assessed my father's condition (which was declining quickly), and started to take action. She hunted down the facility nurse on staff, made calls to her supervisor for approval to increase his pain medication, changed his position to help with breathing, and trying to cool him down and make him more comfortable. She was professional, gentle, soft spoken and explained to us what was happening at every level. Even when we needed a few minutes alone with dad, She stayed right outside of his door and would quietly step back in to observe him and (I think count his breathes ?). The only reason I felt comfortable leaving dad's side to get some sleep was because I knew he was in the caring hands of Kershima. As she promised, she called in the middle of the night when his condition declined and we were able to say our last goodbyes. I felt that Kershima was one of God's Angels sent to us that night.