Gentiva Hospice - San Antonio Northwest

We selected Gentiva hospice for our father and the whole team was outstanding! Miguel started us off and walked us through everything and had the ball rolling immediately. Linda our social worker was amazing. She helped us so much in understanding how the process works and called to check in on my father often. We only had him for a short time after we decided on hospice care so everything moved so fast and we barley got to know the team. Monica was his nurse and she was super helpful and patient. I would not even think of the hour and send her a message if I had a question. It didn't matter the time of day I called she always responded. We couldn't have asked for a better nurse. When our father's time came Ashley came out to take care of everything. Ashley was very kind and respectful. She explained all the steps that would happen and had us prepared for the final time our father would be at home. Brentney was our father's chaplain and she came out and talked to my dad and I know he felt better for it. All the outpouring of support and compassion we received from all involved with my father was amazing! Thank you Gentiva for the wonderful job you all did!

Miguel was wonderful, he took the time to review my patients case, spoke with the family and made them feel safe, heard and appreciated. He took the time to make sure everything was ok with the family, that they had the resources they needed to get through a difficult time and he was extremely knowledgeable about the services and how to work well within the hospital.

One thing I learned from this experience is that hospice care really depends on the people you get. Gentiva had some wonderful staff — our social worker was very helpful, Nurse Betty was amazing, and Ross, the nurse who cared for my mom at the end, was truly an angel. But there were also issues. One aide failed to clean my mom’s shower chair, leaving dried feces on it. It was disgusting and deeply disheartening. We also have concerns, then my mom was not being listened to or her to give the proper medication for her symptoms. We got to the point of switching hospice companies, but after a few interviews when they were all the same. My mom was so close to death, I didn’t feel like switching companies to potentially run into the same issues. I had to step in to make sure my mom got the care she deserved. By Texas and federal regulations, hospice is supposed to provide light housekeeping and cooking, but for some reason, they don’t. Caregivers like us usually don’t have the capacity — or the funds — to file complaints or lawsuits when hospice fails to follow the rules, but it still makes no sense. They claim CNAs aren’t required to do those tasks, and that’s fine, but then they should hire staff who can. Hospice is a huge business, and families deserve better support. I only pray my mom didn’t suffer in her final moments. Hospice should bring peace and dignity, but no one will ever care for your loved one the way you do.