doodlemom

Why would the Chaplain or a SW be any different than a nurse as far as liability? Any member of our staff is allowed to pick up medications and deliver to the patient - even office staff. We even have volunteers deliver medications. As long as they h...

ditto

Also MSIR, Oxyfast.... Please notify your administrators. Get in touch with your legislators and start a campaign. If this happens, this will have a huge impact on our patients care. The only way to obtain the strength needed for our pt's will be to ...

I take that back...it doesn't list oxyfast in the approved or unapproved column List of Approved Narcotics Drug Products: Morphine Sulfate Tablets and Solutions Drug ...

MSIR and oxyfast are being pulled, as well.

Actually anything that is related to comfort is covered under the hospice benefit so if the patient ends up being treated for their symptoms the hospice is require to cover it. It is discouraged because of this. We have a few patients that go to the ...

The medicare rates have not been cut yet.

We have a ton of so's that include meds for just about every symptom imaginable. I can't imagine being able to manage care very well without them and it sure does make the doctors happy to not have to be called for everything. pain - ibuprofen, tylen...

It would be good to have about a year of experience in the hospital so that you will feel more confident with you nursing skills out in the field. As a case manager, your major responsibilities are to make sure the patients symptoms are managed - pt ...

Or she should be calling the administrator if she can't

My recommendation is to start small; pick one person (preferably one of the nurses) to get to know more and more with each visit. It is hard on the first one or two visits, but after you go 2-3 times, you will more than likely feel more welcomed. The...

Our role in facilities can be very different than in the home. These patients probably need us equally if not more than those being cared for by their families in their homes. With our care, we can advocate for what they need. We can update and suppo...

Accessing federal and state money = rules and regs. If you are running completely as a charitable organization and not billing insurance (Medicare/Medicaid) you do not have to follow Medicare regs. There are a great deal of hospices all over the cou...

We don't make it a frequent thing, but we will deliver medications if there is no way a family member can pick up. We contract with a pharmacy that delivers but not in the middle of the night.

YOU SHOULD NOT PUT YOUR PATIENTS BEFORE YOURSELF...PERIOD. End of story! Patients will be dying all of the time. If it is your time off, you should not come in to take care of a dying patient - let someone else take care of it. Remember your boundari...

Everyone else has said it: boundaries. Use the other members of your team and don't try to do it all. I think that is probably one of the biggest mistakes I see nurses do - they don't call the SW and CH for help when they should and end up being ever...

Yes - it is a not-for-profit. Our only policy is that there has to be a safe place for the staff to be. Otherwise, the patient's "home" is anywhere they live - so that might be in a tent or under a bridge. For safety sake, we will send 2 members of t...

we are in a growth spurt right now.

We do hire new grads at our IPF and there is a lot of support.

Some hospices have hired right out of nursing school or soon after - but this is not the norm or recommended. Hospice nursing takes a great deal of autonomy. You are out there with only phone support, so you have to know what you are doing. It would ...

I have seen some hospices that have similar ethical/questionable admission practices. Some of the large chains can get away with this most of the time because they can afford to pay a huge fine (one of the national chains had to pay a 14 milllion dol...

I do not post where I am for privacy reasons. I know there are hospices that have similar missions all over the US. I am very fortunate to work for an agency that has the needs of the community at mind in all that we do. Thanks

We follow our patients wherever they are - so yes, if they are on the streets, we will arrange a time to meet with them under a bridge or wherever they are. We see some in the homeless shelter. Some are in housing units...sometimes they are in the ho...

I would have to ask why the patient is requiring pleuryx kits. Why does he have fluid in his lungs? Does he have lung or liver mets? If you can find a reason that is directly unrelated, then you would not have to pay for this. I can't imagine that th...

We have seen a recent (in the last 2 years) influx of HIV patients that are no longer responding to the newest drugs available...but the majority of our HIV patients are those who have been out on the street and have not been on treatment or their tr...