I'm a seriously ill patient with severe, progressive, intractable pain due to advanced chronic…read morepancreatitis and related complications. I reached out to Sage Hospice, Primary & Palliative Care hoping to receive the comfort-focused, home-based support they publicly claim to provide. Instead, I was met with deceit, slander from the medical director, and a cruel emotional bait-and-switch -- not once, but twice.
My first interaction with the Sage location in Tucson involved a care specialist who seemed to express genuine compassion. When I explained that I live in Sells, AZ -- a rural tribal area -- he assured me we could work around the geographic issue if I had a Tucson address for appointments. I provided one, a relative's address, and he acted as though I was a good candidate for palliative care.
But behind the scenes, their medical director -- who had never evaluated me, never spoken to me, and had not even reviewed my case thoroughly -- labeled me a "drug seeker," claimed I was "seeking for high doses of opiates," and refused to provide care. This reckless accusation came without a single clinical conversation. I have extensive medical documentation confirming the severity of my condition. I was seeking palliative care, not addiction services. Furthermore, I have NO history of addiction, it does NOT run in my family, and I've never abused pain meds. I was and am seeking RELIEF for my uncontrolled severe pain, pain that has utterly debilitated me and destroyed my life. But instead of Sage helping me, I was cast aside and stigmatized.
That alone would have been enough to earn this review. But then, several weeks later, Sage reached out to me again, asking if I still wanted services. Desperate for help, I said yes -- because I'm suffering every day with no relief and no one else will help me. They gave me hope again.
Only to betray me again.
After this second round of false hope, I was finally told the truth: Sage "refers out" for pain management -- meaning they don't actually offer palliative care at all. For crying out loud, the verb "palliate" means TO RELIEVE!! Pain management is the cornerstone of palliative care. I used to be a hospice nurse in the past, so I am very well-versed on palliative care, both end-of-life palliative care (hospice) and palliative care for a serious, life-altering disease (which is what I need badly). To claim to offer palliative care but refuse to actually treat pain is misleading at best and fraud at worst.
Refer out to WHERE? In southern Arizona, pain clinics are almost exclusively interventional-only, which means they reject patients with complex, high-level chronic pain unless they agree to invasive procedures or stop taking all pain medication. I am far too sick to endure their hoops and unethical demands. What Sage is really saying is: "You're on your own."
Sage Hospice, Primary & Palliative Care falsely advertises compassionate care and symptom relief, but they do not treat severe chronic pain and they will stigmatize you behind your back. They will waste your time, raise your hopes, and disappear when you need them most.
If you're suffering and seeking real palliative support, avoid this company. Their actions left me more isolated, demoralized, and abandoned than ever -- and I am still in excruciating pain.
