VITAS Healthcare

wer

We had Vitas for my father for 2 weeks. Every nurse that walked into the room did not know why my dad had hospice care. They made very inappropriate comments about his care and what he should be doing. There is no mechanism in place for nurses or care givers to know what the situation is before they arrive. Even the chaplain made inappropriate comments! The nurses were very nice and seemed competent - but they walked into my dad's room blind. At the end, they were not there. The last day we asked for a hospital bed. It was supposed to be delivered around 12:00, and it didn't arrive until 6pm. We called Vitas because dad seemed to be at the end. They did come, took his vitals, and said he was fine. He died less than 24 hours later. Once dad died, no one ever contacted us, until one month later. That contact was only to recommend bereavement services - I'm sure they get paid for someone to use this service. We were very, very unhappy with Vitas and would not recommend them to anyone.

Provider Response

J.R.

We got Vitas Healthcare for my father-in-law before he passed. Their service was wonderful, and they made it easy for us. The caregivers stayed with him, day and night, and gave him medications.

rebecca-gibson

One week ago, my father In law was admitted to the ER, diagnosed with UTI, and a recurring bout of pneumonia. We engaged vitas after the last hospice org was being uncommunicative and didn't seem to understand much about dementia. Discharged Friday to memory care with 24 hour vitas nurse in place until stabilized. We received notification that 24 hour care discontinued on Sunday at 4pm. Memory care staff seemed a little iffy about that but it happened without us knowing about it. At midnight he started coughing, difficulty breathing again. Hospice called. No response. Kept calling all night until 5am at which point hospice told memory care to call 911. So our first notification was a call from a strange ER Monday morning (memorial day) saying they had my FIL. Ummmm WHAT? Hospice, you had ONE JOB - to keep him out of the hospital (four traumatic hospitalizations this year totalling six weeks). No notification from vitas. The hospital had no records and did not know he had dementia. We called vitas. What happened !? Vitas nurse showed up at the hospital later that day and said she didn't think anything would happen that day or the next. She also said she had never heard of such a callous response to a hospice patient request. She left. He died 5 hours later. We have not heard from vitas again. So based on our experience, if your loved one dies on a holiday, you're on your own. Get ready to go to the hospital even if the sole reason you engaged hospice was to avoid further hospital visits. And they will just go no contact never to be heard from again.

Caring104402450

VITAS took care of my grandmother in the end. They did an excellent job. They go to your location. They really acted like they care, and they’d even reached out to me multiple times after the fact, making sure everything was OK. They just went over and above to make sure that we were taken care of.

Provider Response

Michael F.

As an independent caregiver, I have visited multiple VITAS facilities in both Los Angeles and in San Diego. Last summer during my visit to San Diego to take care of this particular client, I went to the San Diego location and thoroughly enjoyed my stay. The staff here are very compassionate and understanding about the situation that the client is dealing with. Most elderly stay here during the end-of-life phase, and VITAS has always impressed me with the programs that they provide to both the client and the client's family. My client in-particular enjoyed card games and bingo. They had a nice area where clients could visit with each other and with their visitors. He had no complaints with the facility or the staff; and seemed to enjoy his stay here very much. I would highly recommend VITAS to anyone in the LA or San Diego area.

CN4ever

This organization saved my life as I had been struggling alone with my husband's care. Vitas nurses and care givers came in and assessed his situation and guided me through his final days. They were kind, caring, patient, and took the stress of my husband's care off of me right in our home. I cannot say enough praises about this organization. They were absolutely wonderful! They provided consuling, and grief groups following his passing. It has been one year since my husband passed and I still attend the grief group they have provided, free of charge, as it was wonderful to meet people who were struggling with the same emotions and fears that I was dealing with. My only regret is that I did not call Vitas sooner.