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Originally Posted by Mick
Thanks. You hit the nail on the head of what my wife and I don't understand, which is how does this fit in with the care facility he is already in. IMO, the term "Assisted Living" is well over-used at this time, he is already receiving more or less "nursing home" type of care (he can't walk at all, can't get himself to the bathroom, etc.), so I'm not really sure what the Vitas folks would do.  |
As stated, you'll get an extra set of eyes, they'll prescribe and adjust meds as necessary (they have in house docs that consult by phone), and certainly when the time is close, they'll have their own nurses stay with him and administer pain meds/morphine, or whatever the situation calls for.
There are other things they offer that we didn't really need or take advantage of until right up to the end, like a CNA giving a sponge bath/dry shampoo hair wash, etc., which the nursing home staff are already doing.
A lot of what the nurse does is for YOU, as well as the patient, letting YOU know what to expect, what to do, what to watch out for, how to help, etc. I personally appreciated the resource, having someone to call to ask questions, discuss symptoms, meds, etc. You might not find this as helpful, since your loved one is already in a care environment, but as said, another set of eyes certainly can't hurt.