Hospice

[bloeff]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Missouri

Hi all,

Newbie here. I reluctantly agreed to let my sister put mom into Hospice. She is the legal guardian (I guess that's the right word). After doing some research, I was horrified about some of the abuses. Now I want her out of their hands, but my sister doesn't agree. Do I have any legal recourse?

Thanks,
Bruce

 

[I'mTheFather]

Nope, not unless you want to have her guardianship revoked, and it doesn't sound like you have any grounds.

Why is your mom in hospice?

 

[ecmst12]

I've never heard of anyone being abused on hospice. Hospice is a wonderful thing. The sole purpose is to provide comfort care at the end of life, so the patient's passing can be peaceful and painless. They also provide emotional support for the grieving family, which I encourage you to take advantage of. Why would you want to remove that from your mother? If you're having trouble accepting that her condition is terminal, that's something you should look for help with. But don't try to put your mom through more pain just to make yourself feel better.

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Missouri

Hi all,

Newbie here. I reluctantly agreed to let my sister put mom into Hospice. She is the legal guardian (I guess that's the right word). After doing some research, I was horrified about some of the abuses. Now I want her out of their hands, but my sister doesn't agree. Do I have any legal recourse?

Thanks,
Bruce

As your mother's legal guardian, only your sister has the legal right to remove your mother from the chosen hospice care facility. The only way to change that is to challenge her guardianship. In order to do that, you would need to prove that she has failed to protect her Mother's interests, which would be difficult at best, and would almost certainly require you to hire an attorney to pursue.

How, exactly, do you claim that Mom is being abused by the caretakers at her facility? Is it possible that you just disagree with the kind of palliative care that is being provided?

 

[xylene]

I've never heard of anyone being abused on hospice. Hospice is a wonderful thing. The sole purpose is to provide comfort care at the end of life, so the patient's passing can be peaceful and painless. They also provide emotional support for the grieving family, which I encourage you to take advantage of. Why would you want to remove that from your mother? If you're having trouble accepting that her condition is terminal, that's something you should look for help with. But don't try to put your mom through more pain just to make yourself feel better.

Hospice did nothing more than count pain pills and look for accountability down to the last tylenol.

 

[ecmst12]

That is part of their job as well. If they did nothing else, it's because you did not take full advantage of available services.