Has anyone had their spouse in a Hospice House? I wasn't aware until recently that they have those. My daughter visited one about an hour's drive from here and was very impressed.
Dazed, my husband is currently in one as I write this for symptom control. Medicaid will approve for 5-7 days. The one he is in accepts patients for medication management, for patients who are within weeks of passing and they also have residents but the residents are self pay. No insurance coverage for the residents. I really wish he could stay there as the care is wonderful.
If you don't want hospice at home having hospice care at a physical hospice seems to be the best way to go (pun not intended). I didn't know until 10 years ago that you could have hospice at home or in a hospital.
My husband passed away at an in-patient hospice care center last week. He was hospitalized for a week with a brain hemorrhage (apparently the amyloid plaque of Alzheimer's had deposited in his arteries and was cracking them.) After a week in ICU I requested a hospice evaluation and he was transferred to a hospice house (now called care center) near our home where he died almost 6 days later. It was such a calm and peaceful location and the care was excellent. Hospice clearly grasped that a massive brain bleed in an Alzheimer's patient at about level 6b, 6c would not allow him to recover. (The ICU with its intensivists and hospitalists seemed concerned with a beating heart and functioning lungs rather than the quality of life that would be left.) As he was 68, Medicare will pay for his stay with Hospice.
We have a free standing Hospice Home in my hometown. It is simply amazing. The care is extraordinary and the aesthetics and support systems in place are so very calming and peaceful.
My husband was moved to a Hospice wing of the hospital where he was already a patient. Since he was already physically in the same medical center it was the logical place for us. The shift in care to addressing only end of life with dignity and quiet calming and compassionate caregivers was a God send.
......Where I live in So. Calif. there are numerous small homes caring for dementia patients. It looks like someone buys a big house in a residential neighborhood and remodels it into 5 or 6 small rooms, Each with their own bathroom so each patient has their privacy. .....I have visited friends in several of these care homes and they seem to be happy and well cared for. Some of the patients were on hospice care. Some didn't even have dementia. .....I think they are less expensive than the large facilities.
I have moved the condolences to Apple, Table, Penny to a separate thread. Please post condolences under "Apple, Table, Penny's husband has died". Thank you.
Thank you for your comments. We have his name on their waiting list now. They said it would be about a week before they have a room for him. DH has had a drastic downturn, is sleeping almost 24/7 and is eating and drinking very little. My daughter said most people who would know are probably not here now. I was happy to tell her that in this wonderful community, several people stay to help others and there's even a special thread for widow/widower's. Thank you, Joan!
Dazed, you and I joined this site about the same time. You've been on this journey for a long time. It does come to an end, and my thoughts and prayers are with you.
Dazed-your journey has been a very long one. I still pop in once in a while to see how old friends are doing. At least here we do understand each other.