I've only once before written a negative review for any company, but I'm so angry that I feel I…read moremust warn others who are also facing this most horrible of times and need honest and compassionate care.
My brother-in-law has stage four lung and bone cancer caused by exposure to agent orange during the Viet Nam war. He is spending his last days at home, being cared for by my sister.
We originality hired a different hospice care company, but after several serious mistakes they admitted they were too short-handed to do the job, so we switched to Seasons after their saleswoman assured us they would continue with the same meds and oxygen equipment he had with the first company.
First thing, My BIL is on an oxygen generator twenty-four hours a day. with a large emergency bottle in case of power failure.Seasons did not bring out the large bottle of oxygen, which had been provided by the first company. When contacted, the Seasons supervisor said that Medicare would not pay for the emergency bottle under their contract, and that if we were worried about him suffocating during a power failure, it was up to us to buy a gas powered electric generator. When told that the saleswoman had promised that Seasons would provide all that the previous company had, the supervisor said, "We'll have a talk with her..."
Next...my BIL has been on two Lidocaine pain patches a day for some time. When we tried to order them, we were told Seasons does not provide them under their 'formulary.'(?) When we pointed out that the saleswoman had promised two a day, we were told that they would have a talk with her, but that we would have to purchase them ourselves.
My BIL needs to cath six times a day, and, after trying a number of types of catheters, found one type that was easiest to use. When we asked Seasons for them, we were told the type he had been using were too expensive, and if he needs them we'll have to buy them ourselves, and that the sales woman should not have told us Seasons would provide them, but that they would have a talk with her...
The main excuse Seasons gives us for all the problems is that each hospice company has its own individual contract with Medicare, and that they will only provide services, equipment, and medications that fall within their contract. For us, its a guessing game. We'd switch to another provider, but our luck doing that has been so bad that we're afraid to try it again. And to be quite honest, at this most horrible and trying time in our lives, they've managed to wear us down.
If you're considering hospice care for a loved one, MAKE SURE YOU GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING, or better yet, tape-record the salesperson's initial pitch. And if you are considering Seasons, just remember that to them you are not a family in need of care, but a dollar sign.
