I NEVER!!! post a review for anything but I am ABSOLUTELY doing it now. But I promise you need to…read moreread this before you choose them for your loved ones. My mother was visiting my sister in Jonesboro AR and was supposed to be with her for minimum three months. Not even two weeks into her visit she had a massive stroke that has left her paralyzed on her right side and unconscious pretty much since July. She was eventually transferred from St. Bernard's to the Searcy LTAC because we were told that even though she was unconscious the LTAC would work her muscles until she could wake up and participate in rehab. Got to a point where her Medicare no longer wanted to pay for her care since there was nothing more they could do for her medically. So we had two choices, either take her home where we do not have the room, the capacity or the capability, or enter her into hospice. They told us that she only had about 8 to 10 days before she passes away but they will continue her care but just under home healthcare hospice. We said fine as long as her care stayed the same. The social worker from the Searcy branch even drove from Searcy to Jonesboro for us to sign the papers. Done. One evening I called to do my regular check in on my mother and the nurse proceeded to tell me that earlier in the morning home care hospice removed her feeding tube. I asked them who put in that order and the nurse said "I don't know" I told her to get me someone who does know. No one knew! They told us they would track someone down and call us in the morning. The next morning we received a call from the social worker and after we told her what we found out, she proceeded to tell us that in order for our mother to enter hospice care, removing her feeding tube was a requirement. We expressed to her that no one informed us of this and we were told her care would remain the same. We babbled a little more with her, and we ended the call. THEN the social worker from the Searcy LTAC called us and right away had a big attitude. We tried to explain to her our issue and she basically told us that we were talking to too many people and we were getting information misconstrued and we were bothering everyone (me and my sisters NEVER requested any meetings, people reached out to us!). Then, she hung up in our faces. I then reached out to the "executive director" of the LTAC and found out that she was actually not the director of the LTAC as she presented herself to me during a previous conversation, she is the director of nursing. So asked to speak to the actual director and spoke to a man, and honestly I am not even positive that he is the actual director, I do not know. He met us in my moms room at the LTAC and made the social worker give us an apology. We told them that if it was a requirement we should have been told. Got it taken care of (so we thought) but my brain was just not at peace. So, I decided to call the hospice and I said "hey, we now understand that it is a requirement for our mother not to have the feeding tube and that is fine, I just need you to send me the policy, rule, law, whatever you may have stating that. Do you know what she said? I'll tell you. She said and I quote "well, it is not necessarily a requirement, it is just something that we do for the safety of the patient because they could possibly drown if the tube leaks" I said "I totally get it, that is fine, please just send me the policy showing that is what y'all do. She then said "again, I don't know if it is required that is just what I was told". I then told her that is fine, please, send me the name of the person who told you that and any policy you may have. She said okay and we hung up. Some time passed and then the director the the Searcy branch called me, and informed me that SURPRISE!! They put her feeding tube back in. We talked a little more, I told them thank you and we ended the call. I am starting to exceed character limit so I will continue in another review will they will again be rated 1 star and I really wish I could go into negative numbers.

I will start with what is good about Hospice Home Care. Their nurses are top shelf. They are…read morehonest, compassionate and knowledgable. I have been very happy with the services they have provided. The chaplain has been very kind to my mom. I write this for my mom because she would never do this - but, it needs to be written. This facility came highly recommended for their brand new respite care facilities - from a childhood friend who's mother was cared for briefly while at Briarwood. My father has late stage Parkinson's and Lewy Body Dementia. My mother left him with respite care December of 2017 so she could fly out of state for her granddaughter's college recital. The room they put my father in had issues with the heating. It wasn't working, so they brought in a room heater!!? They took off his catheter and put him in diapers and left him unattended while he was wet. His medications were not administered at proper times, which for Parkinson's patients is not great. The worst part was there was inadequate heat in his room. My dad left the facility with bronchitis. They administered 7 days of Rocephin shots at home the following week to keep him from getting pneumonia - knowing full well they had made a catastrophic mistake with the heater issue. The thing about respite care is it offers the caregiver time away. Imagine now how my mother doesn't trust to leave him in respite care. What is the point of their service if they cannot provide basic care at someone's most important time of need. She has grown weary having not been afforded the freedoms she imagined possible... the freedoms they assured her would be available. That is why this review really matters to me. This is about caring for the caregiver as well as the patient. My father has been with this hospice group now for 18 months. He has in home care. You may ask - why haven't you just switched hospice providers? It is not advised to make changes for dementia patients. And what if things were no better elsewhere? Sometimes you just get stuck trying to trudge through the day to day. I live in Los Angeles. I can't tell you how many times I get calls from my exhausted mother about how the attendants do not show up on time or that the catheters are late. I selected this place to help my mother have some freedom in these last years of caring for my father, but it has been more of a headache. My mom would never post something like this. I have gone up the chain a few times to register complaints. A few times things have gotten better. But, ultimately the problems still persist. Today after a long night of caring for my father through some coughing fits, she found out once again the catheters (which had been promised for delivery) were delayed, and her attendant was 1 hour later than my mom had requested so she could attend bible study. My mom missed her bible study. When asking the attendant - she showed my mom that the notes the administration sent her for the visit did not say what time to arrive - after my mom went to great lengths to ask the staff to specifically request her arrival time. I want my mom to have some freedom! To not be able to make a bible study with all she is going through - may sound like whining... but, it is huge. I don't think these people realize what their negligence and disorganization does to their clients. Hospice care is supposed to provide freedom for the caregiver - not burdens. I do not know where the breakdown occurs over there -- but, it is not working. What is the most painful for me is knowing my mother does not feel she can leave her house to have the freedoms this hospice promised, or leave him in respite care to do weekend trips anywhere. I hear they have new management. I sure hope they read this and that it lights a fire under someone to address these concerns. I was told from someone who had been here that the better option is to do Briarwood respite care and have them do hospice visits there than to put them in respite care in their really nice new facilities. It is disappointing that a place with such nice facilities is run so poorly. I wish I had posted this sooner. Maybe it would make my mother's life better - and the lives of other patients that have been going through similar experiences. I no longer live in Arkansas. I am not afraid to post a harsh and frank assessment. Hospice Care is a vital service to society. But, it must be managed and maintained to a higher standard than hospital care. Here it is not being maintained to a higher standard. I do this in hopes of accomplishing two things. 1. Helping a family avoid the headaches we have had. 2. Maybe an administrator there will take this and use it to get that place in shape. I do hope for our sake and for others that they work hard to improve their services. I will most certainly post a positive follow up review if they address these concerns.