Grace Hospice Kansas City, MO

Grace Hospice is wonderful. They go beyond what we expected, so it is working out really well. They come in twice a week and give my dad a bath, take his vitals, and check on him. Every 90 days, my mother can take him to a home for five days, so she can have a break, and they will bring her anything she needs. The nurses are fabulous. They've been a great help.

Grace Hospice of Topeka took care of both my grandfather and my mother-in-law. All of the staff that visited were fantastic, I couldn't ask for more caring and kind nurses, aides, social workers and chaplains. the on call nurses were always quick to respond to our needs. The nurses that took care of my loved ones were very supportive and guided us through a very difficult time. I would highly recommend Grace Hospice for anyone looking for hospice care for their family.

I have very little good or positive to say about my personal experience with Grace Hospice (Topeka). In my personal opinion and during my personal experience some of the individuals that I had the unpleasant opportunity to be in contact with during my mother's "care" were exactly the opposite of what one would expect from a group of people who "devote" their lives to serving individuals and their families during the most difficult time of their lives. During the time of my mother's care, some of the staff caused more unrest and conflict in our family than they did to assist us through this very difficult time. They made false and/or exaggerated accusations to one family member against other family members. In essence "gossiping". They caused my mother much concern and stress by their uncaring and hurried visits and on one very difficult visit the nurse walked out of my mother's home without even examining her or checking her medications. Most of the time under their care, my mother was left to self medicate, even as her health was deteriorating to the point of not being able to see or read the prescription bottles or instructions. If they came to visit and my mother's primary caregiver was not at home with my mother, they would still discuss any changes in medication and care with my mother only, who was having noted and documented memory loss and confusion, they were not communicative with the family members. They decided to invoke the HIPPA rules and not allow all family members to be informed of any information regarding the care and health of my mother. When asked why they did this so suddenly and who authorized this the nurse's response was "we (meaning Grace) did, because of all of your family problems". Indicating to me that the company had made the decision to not share info with anyone in the family besides my mother's husband who was her main caregiver at the time, but that he nor my mother had indicated that should stop sharing this information, and also indicating that they had decided that we had "problems" as a family that they deemed unacceptable. I can tell you, that we are not a perfect family unit by any means, and under the circumstances things were tense and often more difficult, but how could they not be?, my mother was dying. And I would think that instead of intentionally making the situation more difficult by creating a barrier between family members, is exactly the opposite of what a hospice care organization is supposed to do. And even in the end of my mother's life when she was nearing death, Grace Hospice did nothing to bring the family together, they did nothing to try to assist in making my mother's final days and hours, a time of family love and togetherness. I would have thought that anyone with a heart, anyone who has devoted their life to caring for people in the final stages of life would feel the tug at their heart and want to notify family members or at least encourage that family members, (such as the daughters, the sisters, her surviving parent of the patient) so that they can surround their loved one with love during their final moments. But in our situation, they did not. My mother died alone in her bed. I am disgusted with this company and feel that there are a few select individuals that really need to rethink their chosen career in hospice care. And yes, I did try to reach out to the company with my concerns during the term of my mother's care and even on the day of her death and have never received any response. In my opinion, Grace Hospice is completely reprehensible or should I say disGRACEful.

What a great staff!! But Brenda Cochran, You are a gift from God, you where a friend to all and what special care and kindness you gave. You made Betty a happier person in her final time and made everyone feel at ease. Just the few times you came, I get tears in my eyes!! Thanks Brenda and Grace Hospice be proud!!!!!