I would like to thank Heather. She has been exceptional with my mother and my family. She is so caring and compassionate. Heather, you are absolutely the best and I am very comfortable knowing that you are part of the team taking care of my mother. read more

although the first contact with Faith was a good experience during the process with my ailing mother, during and end process within days was extremely horrible. I've never dealt with hospice before but I've heard great things and beautiful things about them and that Faith was absolutely the best. when I was able to transfer my mother to hospice where I took care of our family along with first contact with the nurse at home did not provide comfort packs or a comfort pack and then I had to find someone to come watch my mother while I took off to go get the morphine from the pharmacy 15 minutes away in which I had a problem because the nurse apparently didn't tell the pharmacy that this was a case and I ended up having to pay for her myself out-of-pocket. I get back to my at with very little instruction on what to do. I was handed a pamphlet and told that it explains everything in pamphlet was just about how to recognize the signs of death. I had some issues that evening and was scared to touch the morphine because I had no idea to do because the nurse had already left. So another hospice nurse had to come out to help me because the admission nurse did not show me that or get me the comfort pack which the nurse at that time ordered and also didn't bring with her, but I had to order. during the evening overnight, I had another issue and I had called My new 911 was their phone number. I was told to contact them no matter what do not call 911. I got a call back from the nurse and she said she was on her way to help me take care of the when she arrived, she asked me some questions. I answered she took a hold of her computer and. a doctor on call and then I was supposed to start doing the morphine once every hour I did ask questions but never once did she ever say this is the end or this is what you do with that I was to combine two every four hours and morphine every hour. My mom had a pretty good but I could tell it was close to the end and as my mom struggled late I told him that she was having problems and I needed to know what to do because I didn't think that the medicine was helping my mom. I was told that I would get a phone call from the nurse and an hour and a half later. I ended up calling again because I didn't get a phone call yet. I ended up telling them she's struggling and I needed help. I needed to know what to do. I called and they said that a nurse will be calling me soon. My mom passed hour and 15 minutes later with no return call from the nurse since I had called the first time. After another almost hour later, the nurse and she's telling me that she will be about 35 to 45 minutes and that's when I let her know that my mom had already passed at 7:47 PM and that the funeral home was on their way, and at that moment, the nurse raised her voice and yelled at me that I could not allow them to take her body without her pronouncing him first. And yes, she called my mom a him. I was very emotional hurt and extremely disappointed in a lady yelling over the phone as I just watched my mother pass away. This nurse was extremely rude. The funeral got there and then another 15 minutes later the nurse got there."Linda" came in the house as we are grieving our loss in front of a dozen or more people. She yelled again telling me that I was supposed to contact her first and at that moment I told her I did I tried. She did take care of my mom and her body to tell interrupt me and my conversation with my uncle my mother's brother that I needed to come sign some documents with a very loud voice. came to sign what she needed me to I started to walk away, and then she yelled again, stating that she wasn't done and that she needed the leftover drugs. I walked away to go get them and she asked me again to get the drugs in which I was walking towards where they were to get them because I was crying. I couldn't really talk. I take her the drugs and I asked her if she was done with pronouncing my mom because I want them to take her away and she rudely said "yeah that's what you just signed" And as we were watching my mother, leave the on the stretcher with the funeral we said something in our cultural language, thanking the people from the funeral home and that's when Linda the nurse an exciting voice again while we're all grieving our loss, " oh, you guys are Indian, that is so cool, I have a relative that speaks that language, it's such a beautiful language" She was so loud and so rude. She had no bedside manner whatsoever. I didn't thank her because I was so hurt by her mannerisms, her loudness and rudeness. and as we were walking outside to watch the funeral leave drive down my mom's driveway. Linda was screaming at people because she couldn't see to get out of the driveway as there was numerous cars there she didn't know how to drive to get out and she was yelling at someone to come help her get out of the driveway. If this is what faith Hospice represents, I do not recommend read more

The nursing staff was extremely unprofessional. My friend sent me many messages that the nurses gave her PRN pain meds on top of her scheduled pain meds without telling her and without her request. My friend also, told me there were many times she waited 45 minutes for help to use the commode, and then left on the commode for extended periods of time after she pressed the call light. There were several times she could hear the staff talking about her or laughing about her. Heartbreaking that she had to spend her last 6 months with such horrible people. read more

It was one of the most heartbreaking experience I've ever encountered. Basically they just over drugged my mother to death. There was no comfort care in what they did. They didn't care to call us about my mom passing. Stay away. read more

My mom went to metro because she had pain in her stomach. Metro recommended a few hospices but said faith is a religious one so I picked it. WHAT A HUGE MISTAKE!!!!! THE WORST CARE I EVER IMAGINED. They made promises to have aids at my moms side all the time in her dying days! NOTHING!!! NO ONE CAME! I spent every day at my moms side all day long waiting for relief !! VICTORIA was my moms nurse from FAITH. She made horrible recommendations that were truly INHUMANE!! He came and left in minutes. NO ONE STAYED AT MY MOMS BEDSIDE EVER!!!!! The director of the nursing home my mom was in made recommendations and Victoria Finally got a few things. She literally killed my mom months before it was time for her to go. The doctors at metro said my mom would last about four to six Months in her condition. VICTORIA MANAGED TO KILL HER IN TWO WEEKS! Stopped all liquids and foods from my mom. Wouldn't suggest anything to prolong her life. Wouldn't listen to my suggestions. My mom never got out of bed and got bed sores. They NEVER GAVE A COMFORT KIT TO EASE MY MOM IN HER LAST DAYS. MY MOM SUFFERED SO MUCH UNDER THE CARE OF FAITH HOSPICE!!! I hired my own caregiver to sit with my mom the days and hours I couldn't be there. HOSPICE NEVER CALLED US TO TELL US MY MOM DIED!!!!!! My husband walked into her room and found her dead!!!!!!! Stay the hell away from FAITH HOSPICE!!!! read more

Our family member was told there was nothing futher that medical intervention could do to treat his cancer, so he chose Faith Hospice for at-home, end-of-life care. When he entered hospice on a Monday, he was extremely weak from his last chemo treatment and the cancer itself. After meeting with the intake nurse, I was a little surprised to find out we'd only be seeing a nurse once a week, and might have an aide out once a week, maybe the social worker. I was a bit suspect of them at this point, but kept my opinions to myself, because my experience with hospice was in Illinois and Wisconsin - maybe Michigan is different? I get told that a lot, so, I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Well, I was right to be suspect. The first mistake, was the initial evaluation of his condition. He'd been weak, and almost bedridden when he first got home. This led the staff to make the erroneous assumption that he wouldn't last more than 8-12 days. However, he actually started to regain a little strength the first two days home, eating a little more, engaging with us more, and generally more comfortable. I wasn't thrilled with how long it took them to get back to us on things, and I wasn't super thrilled they hadn't put him on an antidepressant, but I assumed they knew what they were doing, again. However, 3 days in, they requested a Doctor come out and answer some questions he had. This is where it all went wrong, this was Thursday afternoon. One of his questions, he was implying that he wanted to know how he could make 'all this go faster' (meaning he was ready to die, and didn't want to wait anymore.). She told him that God does things in His time, not in ours. However, the very next question he asked was, "If I'm not hungry, I shouldn't eat, should I. They," he pointed at myself and his wife, "Keep trying to force me to eat protein" Her response? "No, if you're not hungry, you don't eat. Your body doesn't need as much food now, and what food you're eating is ALL being taken by the cancer. These two cook well, but you can refuse, and they shouldn't force you. It could actually make you suffer MORE if you eat, because your body isn't digesting it. The GI system is the first to shut down, so it's really common to feel that." Sounds like an OK answer. Except it wasn't. His digestive system is still working, because when shown slides of celebrations past, he'd go, "hey, that cake/barbecue/thanksgiving dinner looks GOOD, could you make me one?". We'd whip it up as fast as we could, even if he'd only eat a few bites, that was fine by us. But, as soon as the Doc left, he began what has amounted to a hunger strike, because he is of the belief his suffering will end sooner. At this same visit, this Doctor heard the depression. Because she thought he was significantly weaker and in more imminent probability of passing, she prescribed him Ketamine. That's right, 'Special K', otherwise known as a party drug and horse tranquilizer. Not some form of anti-depressant. I had read that this was a protocol that MIGHT be followed in the very final days, because Ketamine can actually temporarily boost mood. However, the family member IS NOT showing signs of deterioration at this point from earlier in the week, so it was a a wildly bad diagnostic assumption. This family member, OF COURSE, had a negative reaction to the ketamine, and had some very vivid and scary hallucinations as a result. (This is extremely common. Ketamine is well known for causing hallucinations.) It has been the only time we've ever seen him hallucinate, (and since then, he still hasnt) so it wasn't just end of life symptoms. We dealt with our family member ourselves until Sunday, when he was so weak from not eating for three days, that it was taking two people to move him. This family member is still cognizant of his surroundings, and while confused, still engages in meaningful conversations. His other symptoms are not progressing currently. The hospice was called twice on Sunday, and told that the Doctor, whatever her intention was, had screwed up, and we needed help convincing him that a hunger strike was a bad idea. No one ever called me back. His wife called, and she was told that everything was perfectly normal, the ketamine hallucination, the depression, etc...and that a nurse would be out sometime within the next 24 hours. So, we made the decision to switch hospices, before these deathmongers ruined what little time we might have with him. It took four phone calls, 5 hours, and threatening legal action to get the revocation. They wasted an entire week of my loved ones last days in absolute pain and misery, all the while praising Jesus and telling us about heaven. He needed a LOT less encouragement to 'Go see Jesus', and a LOT more medical care. The only kind of faith anyone should have in Faith hospice is the faith that, yes, indeed, the patient will get to see Jesus a lot faster. read more

My dad's been using faith hospice services for about 2 months. They've been great, caring and very professional.

My son was in Faith Hospice at Trillium Woods. It is too long a story to tell. Just let it suffice to say our experience was horrible. 2 hours before my son died I asked the doctor about his condition because he was breathing funny. The doctor told me nothing to worry about. Never a clue as to his life was going to end even that day let alone 2 hours later. None of the nurses told us he was going to die so soon. I thought that is what hospice is for to help the family through this process. I had left to go home for a couple of hours. Luckily, my other son stayed there. He called not even 15 minutes later and said get back here we are losing him. We got back and he died 5 minutes later. Had I known he was that close to death I would never have left. Never again would I use this facility. Extremely disappointed and very unprofessional. read more

Faith Hospice took wonderful care of my mother in law. They spent time with her, kept her pain managed and genuinely cared about her. From the hospital to her assisted living, they helped every step of the way. read more

If I could give a negative star I would. My brother in November was in St. Mary's the case manager met us on Thursday stating it was a state law we had to allow their chaplain to see him and us this is a lie. It is only law they have to have a chaplain if requested. In my home the nurse should up later then the ambulance transporting him on Friday. She was surprised there was no "care package " at our home for him apparently this contains drugs and disposable products needed. I spent 3 hours giving her pharmacy numbers to call to get medicine she said the " care package " would arrive Saturday morning. Saturday morning I got a phone call stating " care package" would not come since they don't overnight on weekends. Saturday night he was declining fast so I called and was told in the " care package "is this pill well I would love to use that but you didn't send a "care package " so now I am looking for a 24 hour pharmacy oh yes and they screwed that up to I had to pay for the drug. Long story short he passed late Saturday night and what my family was put through was stressful, horrid, and totally traumatizing. I would never recommend this company in a million years I am ashamed of what they did to us and others. Also, all 6 nurses we had told me this is normal because when they address issues they have in being able to service in the community management tells them it is what it is deal with it read more

In response to C.G. and Paul H. in previous posts (that were not published). I agree with you completely! My family had a very similar experience to yours while my Dad was under the care of Faith Hospice. We took him for a "respite" at Trillium Woods (part of Faith Hospice) - so my Mom could have a "care-giving break". He agreed to go only if she promised him that he could come home...she agreed. Well, within 36 hours he was dead. We had only brought him there under the agreement with Trillium Woods/Faith Hospice that he was to get NO drugs....as he had NO PAIN. When he arrived he sat in a chair and was eating. They promised he could get more to eat, but that never happened as within a short time they put him on "nothing to eat or drink". People ------ this is not right. They took away his basic rights!! Well, when we saw him the day after he was admitted he was a total zombie. We asked why he looked so bad and we were told on numerous occasions that "When you bring him to hospice you give him permission to die." The nurses told us this right in front of him.!! They never did tell us that they were giving him 5 different medications!!!!!! (and we never asked as we were PROMISED none would be given). They deliberately hid this from us...and my Mom was the medical POA. ALL approvals were to go through her. They never communicated anything to her or me. We found out from the records that within 1/2 hour of my Mom leaving the first day they began their regiment of medications for "symptom management". What a bunch of bologna. My Dad never did respond or communicate with us again. They kept doping him up with medications (which we found out only after we asked for the medical report). The final days of my Dad's life was taken from him and he was put into a stupor that he never came out of. We tried to bring a lawsuit against them but lawyers have a hard time touching hospice as they are a "sacred cow". We did have a number of meetings with the medical director and the administrator. They of course deny any wrong-doing. On top of all this the nurses falsified medication reports (a felony) as I was with my Dad for his last 12 hours of life. WATCH OUT people....... This is not the only hospice that is involuntarily euthanizing our elderly people. My Dad never had a chance. read more

There are several hospice organizations in West Michigan and I recommend choosing any other than Faith Hospice. Their care of my mother was downright incompetent. Not only did they fail to check on my mother with any regularity, but my mother died on a Sunday and after we got the on-call nurse out to confirm her death, they called late Monday to say they were coming to check on her on Tuesday. read more

The Faith Hospice staff could not have been more caring and sensitive to my grandma's needs. She had such improved quality of life when they came on board. They are angels! read more

My mom was at St. Mary's hospital and was not expected to live more than 24 hours. Diane from Faith Hospice stopped by her room to talk to me and my sister about their services. She told us that if the hospital determines that she is only there for comfort care, Medicare wouldn't cover it and we'd have to pay per-night fees to the hospital if we didn't move her to hospice care. We then talked to my mom's physician, and he said that is simply not true and that there is not a per-night fee; the cost is based on the diagnosis. He went on to say that there is no reason to move her to hospice care when she would not be leaving the hospital. He also said that he used to like Faith Hospice but had not been impressed by them lately. Diane called me later in the day to say that my mom was approved for inpatient hospice and that she was traveling to the hospital from Raybrook and would be there in about 20 minutes. Once she arrived, she presented us with paperwork that she wanted us to sign. We told her that we'd like to review it and asked that she give us some time. It didn't take long to figure out that by signing the documents, we would be transferring my mom's care from her current physician to a Faith Hospice physician and her nursing care from St. Mary's to them. We couldn't figure out why it would make sense to transfer her care to a physician and nursing staff who were not intimately involved with her medical history and to trust them to make decisions on her behalf. In addition, the nursing care would no longer be 24 hours, on-site (their nurses would need to travel to St. Mary's to provide care), so we declined to sign the paperwork. When we explained this to Diane, she said that she would contact her nurse, who was planning to arrive at 6, and tell her not to make a special trip, "like I just did." This was totally unprofessional and uncalled for. We were under enough stress already without her trying to pressure us to sign my mom's care over to Faith Hospice, and then she topped it off with her comment implying that we put her out. We didn't ask her to make a special trip, and because she didn't explain the transfer sufficiently when she first stopped by my mom's room, we didn't understand the implications of signing the paperwork. We could only conclude that it is about the numbers and that they wanted my mom's Medicare dollars. read more

Uhhh.....where to begin....our experience was in a hospital and while the hospital staff were great, the Faith hospice folks were insensitive and incompetent. It began when the Faith admitting nurse enters our 93 year old mother/grandmother/greatgrandmother's room when it was already occupied by 3 generations of visitors. They insisted to the hospital staff that she needed to be changed immediately (and began to do so before any reading of her chart to discover her pre-exsisting back fracture ) & thus caused her great pain and indignity and trauma to the grand and greatgrandchildren who heard her moaning in great distress. As this is going on, the Faith nurse asks if she has a back injury and then says she 'didn't have time to read the chart' before coming into the room. The next day we were visited by a Faith Hospice social worker who was asking family members to "tell me about your mother" as said mother is trying with great effort to say good bye to those same people. That social worker asks if there is "anything she can do to help" and we tell her that a number of the grandchildren have left jobs to come be with their Oma, and would like explanation letters to give to their employers. Social worker responds, "No problem, I'll have them here first thing tomorrow morning." Next day, no letters, nor the following, eventually grandchildren have to fly back to their homes in other states, Oma passes away, there is a funeral and several days after the funeral Social worker calls to offer condolences and offer once again to write the letters. faith/fTH/ Noun: Complete trust or confidence in someone or something. Strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. Kind of an ironic name read more

My elderly father spent the last two and a half weeks of his life at Trillium Woods. The care could not have been better. He was previously in an assisted living center with a different hospice organization coming in and it was a disaster. The problem was not with the hospice people but the assisted living. (Beware of such situations.) Once he was admitted to Faith Hospice everything changed for the better. The entire facility was designed with both the families and loved ones in mind. Plenty of room to spread out and even stay overnight. My father required close medical attention to manage his medications as he was quite agitated (terminal restlessness). Being in a place with an RN around the clock was such a good thing for my dad. Our family is very grateful for the care he received. read more

Another horror story.. Faith Hospice was suggested to our family by local medical professionals. To make a long story short; Faith Hospice was responsible for the early demise of our mother. Shortly after signing on with Faith Hospice, she was prescribed oral narcotics (roxinal) by the hospice physician despite the fact that she had no pain and had entered hospice because of advanced emphysema. They said that is would assist her breathing when taking a shower. My mother was still living independently in her own condo (with our frequent visits and assistance) and she complained that the roxanol made her dizzy and unstable and refused to take it because she was afraid of falling and breaking a hip. This was well documented by the hospice nursing staff. Approx. one month later, the same physician prescribed Oxycontin, a much more powerful narcotic for my mother. At the time, she was was not experiencing any pain and was simply on oxygen. This narcotic was prescribed and sent to her without our families knowledge and only discovered after her untimely death. At the hospice nurses request, my mother began taking Oxycontin, believing it would somehow help her breathing. Only a few days after starting the Oxycontin, my mother's worst fear was realized; she fell in her condo and fractured her hip. Because of her pulmonary status she was not a candidate for surgical repair of the hip. She died a horrible traumatic death at a local hospital 3 days after this avoidable fall. Later review of her medical and hospice charts revealed that despite the fact that she was not experiencing pain, she was prescribed powerful narcotics without the knowledge of our family who were her medical decision makers. If we had been aware of this, we would have ensured that she either didn't take the medication or provided increased support/supervision for her. Several attorney's reviewed this case and all of the associated medical records and concurred that there was definitely a strong malpractice/negligence case, the fact that she was in hospice and was not expected to live longer than 12-18 months they would not be able to make enough money to cover both legal fees and any damages. Apparently, damages are determined by the expected length of life. I am truly sorry that we choose Faith Hospice to care for our mother in the final months of her life. They were incompetent and obviously negligent. When confronted with questions about how this occurred, they denied any wrongdoing and lied to our family. Shame on them and their administration for taking our mother in this way and destroying any chance she may have had for a quiet and peaceful death. read more

Our experience with faith hospice was horrible, would not recommend them to anyone. My love one and the family was told an entirely different story when he was in the hospital. They did nothing they promised when my brother was released from the hospital. We had a nurse who was afraid to come in the area so she had to be escorted to and from her car. Secondly the social worker was talking at a level that my brother was able to hear, "he has one foot in this world and one in the other one." They were actually telling the family what to do over the phone, it had got so bad we had to go to the pharmacy to pick up his meds. Someone was suppose to come out to do personal care and change the bed, that never happened. We paid a CNA to come out to do those duties. My brother was up walking, eating and drinking that Friday when he left the hospital and each day with the medication he became weaker and weaker. I called his doctor office and advised them I was taking him back to the hospital. Within a 1/2 hour we had a doctor and a nurse there caring for him. They also offered for him to go to trillium hill, but we refused. That Tuesday he was dead, this is nothing but mercy killing and I would think twice or more, before using this service. They are horrible! read more

Would not recommend faith hospice to any one. The nurse that was assigned to us lied on several occasions when we asked her questions on the meds given my mother. My mother was in a assited living facility and the staff there was great but they said they were following orders from the faith hospice nurse. Before we signed papers the faith hospice nurse said all my moms meds could stay the same. We had told the faith hospice nurse that our main concern was we did not our mother out of it. She could talk and get around find with a walker before we signed her with faith hospice. The next morning she was totally out of it and could no longer get up on her own. They were not bringing her anything to eat only water. We said why is not getting any thing to eat and they said she has to ask for it we cant just offer it to her. Well how can she ask when she is totally out of it. We had to bring in malteds jello, etc. and feed her. We asked the nurses there what meds our mother was on and they said morphine and another one that was to relax and help breathing. Everything the faith hospice nurse told us was a lie. We called the faith hospice nurse and and said we wanted her off these meds because of how our mother had changed over night and she said it wasn't the meds that were doing that. We said if meds were not changed we were going to call her primary care doctor and do something different, So she did change the drug that was the relax drug and my mother could talk again. My mother could get up and go the bathroom and when the faith hospice nurse was there she told my mom to go in a diaper so she would not fall instead of helping her get up. Talk about taking away a persons dignity. The nurse also told me I should be staying there at night holding my mothers hand. What right does she have to say that to someone. Then she walk out of the room . They withheld food, gave her pain drugs when she was not in pain and my mother was gone alittle over a week later. Once they came into the picture my mother went down hill very fast. Not sure if all hospice work this way but we had a awful experience. I know hospice is government funded and they must have a agenda in place when some one signs up with them. All I can say is be very careful. I thought hospice was to help the patient and family clearly that was not the case with us. And we were told a doctor would check in not once did a doctor come to see my mother just the inconsiderat nurse. read more