VITAS Healthcare Blue Bell, PA

So very disappointed. My father’s home nurse and aide were kind and caring. However, once he entered the inpatient unit, so many critical mistakes were made. He was given dangerous meds he had never taken during his home care, or ever. After 2 months, Vitas still cannot explain why. After 18 hours there, he became unresponsive. (He was very sick, but alert, eating and drinking, and holding normal conversation on admission.) We were not called and informed of his rapid decline. After 2 months, Vitas cannot tell us why. We learned of our father’s imminent death during our scheduled visit that evening, after he lay unresponsive and dying all day. But first we were told he could “eat his dinner when he wakes up.” I don’t think Vitas will ever tell us why our father and family were treated so dismissively.

I cannot recommend this hospice. Our father and our family were treated dismissively while in the inpatient unit. After half a day here, our father became unarousable after being given morphine and Ativan. We were never called to be with him while he was dying alone. The management cannot tell us why this happened. Instead, we are told that grief is the source of our questions. Really?

End of life care is sensitive and stressful. VITAS personnel educated me and provided a peaceful passing for my mother. I wish I had more time to learn and give more input for the end of life for my mother. I felt grief with a sense of calm knowing I had made good choices with VITAS staff support.

My Aunt stayed at the VITAS hospice at the end of her life. When she entered, we were all a little worried because we had heard some bad stories about nursing homes and assisted living facilities. I have had some friends who had their grandparents get ignored in nursing home facilities. From the moment I stepped in the building at VITAS to visit her, my opinions greatly changed. They had the nicest staff I had ever met at any home or hospital. They were attentive and listened to anything my Aunt or any of her family had to say. Most of the time I have felt that when a family member want to talk to a doctor or nurse at other facilities, they seemed kind of annoyed and try to rush the conversation. When one of us would try to talk to a staff member at VITAS they would actually sit down with you and talk about anything you wanted. And when the conversation about the patient was over, they would often ask how the family was doing and if there was anything they could do for us or for my Aunt. They just made her and us feel very at home. I think this was the absolute best place for her to be. Sadly, my Aunt recently passed away there. When she died, all of the staff on duty lined the hallway and bowed their heads in tribute to my Aunt. This was an excellent facility in every sense of the word.