Lakeview Home Sharp Hospice Care

My mom Sara passed one week ago today. Which prompted me to write this. My family is so blessed to have such loving nurses. From Carla, RN, Juilianne, Aid, Wendy and Caretaker, Sophia. Beautiful individuals. It takes special people to do this everyday. They did give mom morphine and Ativan but they explained the doses each time. We left only to rest abit and Carla was considerate and compassionate to let us know to get there because she felt time was near. We are beyond great ful for making sure mom was comfortable to the end. The home itself was beyond my expectations. Very comfortable for the entire family. At times their were more than 10 family members and they always made us feel welcomed. Thank u to all for moms care. Im so glad she was at Lakeview.

The Lake View House is beautiful and peaceful. Unfortunately some of the nurses they have on staff should not be working there. As soon as my Mom arrived she was given morphine and Ativan. When I questioned why she was given Ativan the nurse said «don’t you want your Mom to be comfortable?» which was rude and inconsiderate. I told her my Mom’s wishes were to be as coherent as possible while managing her pain so she could enjoy her family and friends before she died. It was a constant battle with the nurses wanting to over medicate my Mom. One of them actually said to my Mom «your daughter doesn’t want to give you medicine that makes you feel better» and to me «you don’t want your Mom to have a good nights sleep?» I was appalled and so angry. Then she wanted me to produce the POA stating that I was not the decision maker. If I made a decision not to turn her or bathe her I was always met with resistance and condemnation. They actually blamed me for some of her compression sores which she was already developing. There were many more instances. But to top it off, when my Mom passed and my Dad and I were leaving I asked the volunteer to get the nurses so we could say thank you. Their response was «can you ask them to wait a few minutes?» So lacking of any compassion or empathy. I had always heard such wonderful things about hospice but this experience was horrible.

So how bad can a Hospice be this was a question I personally found the answer to only after the fact. My dad was under the care of Sharp HospiceCare for over 10 months. First in their transitions program (palliative care), than at home Sharp HospiceCare, and last at the Sharp HospiceCare Lakeview Home.
I had spoken with my dads RN Case Manager, and Social Worker many times in the last four month of my dads life. Honestly I was always told non truths, or what being politically incorrect I would call a pack of lies about my dads condition, how he was doing, and last if death was imminent.
I honestly did not even know the true condition of my dad after his last visit to Sharp Memorial ER for a shortness of breath attach. Because at one point received a call from the ER Physician saying my dad was stable, over the shortness of breath, & the ER physician was considering sending him home. Than a few hours later someone from Sharp HospiceCare who said they were a «social worker» said they were taking my dad to Lakeview home. LEADING ME TO BELIEVE IT WAS A REHABILITATION FACILITY, AND MY DAD WOULD BE BACK HOME IN 7 – 10 DAYS. The truth about what Lakeview Home was finally disclosed when I called to check on my dad the night they moved hime, finding out he was project to live only a day or to longer.
After my dads death less than 48 hours later I traveled to San Diego to clean out his apartment. What I found shocked me beyond belief that the staff of Sharp HospiceCare allowed this man to live like some homeless person in a third world country. In a filthy apartment, it was obvious that my dad was not capable of taking care of or looking out for himself. My father always was a neatness nut, would have never lived like this unless he had no energy to lift a hand to clean. But as I said Sharp HospiceCare staff always told me all is fine he is capable to live on his own, and talking care of his home.
IMHO Sharp HospiceCare is not about care or hospice care, it is about billing insurance & medicare to get maximum revenues that sure never trickled down to the patient in my dad case, who’s care Sharp HospiceCare were charged with. After the fact I saw the dollars billed to medicare by Sharp HospiceCare, and question for what? I realized after the fact had I travel to San Diego and saw first had what was going on I would have fired Sharp HospiceCare, and taken my dad to the VA in San Diego where people care.
But the final stray came about 8 hours after my dad’s death, when someone from Sharp HospiceCare called me at 11 PM, to ask if they could go to the mortuary holding my dads body to harvest skin that would be used for skin graphs. I politely said do you know what time it is, and no you do not have permission to do anything. Let his body lie in peace.
A few days later the social worker on my dads case called me to express his condolences. Lets say as I had by now returned home, had seen my dad’s apartment, I was not in the mood for a canned condolence speech. But I did ask many questions to this social worker who I had spoken to previously, he avoided my questions, observations, acted dumb when I point out short coming in his companies treatment of patients, and let say I got no answers about what I will call neglect, lies & misinformation.
I do recall a conversation with my dad a week or two before he died. He mentioned that the «people» (staff) from Sharp HospiceCare were cold, did not seem real concerned, did not care about him, and were just going threw some motions. My dad made the comment that these paid staff people seem not to understand someday they too will be dyeing, and someone will be charge of taking care of them.
Considering using Sharp HospiceCare, if you are let say you were warned.

They like to use a lot of morphine and Adivan there. I feel guilty about not trying to stop them and not saying anything about it. My grandma said it herself in her weak voice, that she was not in pain and was not tired. She wanted to be awake and visit with family. She said they were giving her so much morphine «they’re putting it in me and on me» she said. They injected into her since she refused to take it and would try. to make them stop, and even cursed at them and pushed their hands away while they had the needle ready to go. While visiting her, she’d tell us to close the door to whisper that they were drugging her and trying to kill her. I said, oh Granny, you’re just getting a little crazy. She responded in desperation as best as she could, with, «no. I’m not crazy!» She’d say that she wants out of there. Get me out of here. I’m sorry I ever came here. I want to die. I want to die, but not like this. Not like this. I feel very strongly that she was getting angrier and angrier about being in hospice as she went into a coma and couldn’t speak for herself. I don’t know, I just think the patient’s wants and needs should come first.

My grandma was sent here in May from Grossmont hospital. She was suppose to be here for only a couple months and then to go back to the nursing home where she resided. Well she ended up dying here only after a week of being here. Every time I came to visit here it felt kinda fishy. They were always watching you like a hawk. Some of the staff are rude and not compassionate at all. My grandma was on a feeding tube and they took that away from her without my families consent. They also gave her high doses of morphine because they «thought» she was in pain (which wasn’t the case). My mom who was her POA asked for them to lower the morphine or for them to take her off it and they just brushed her off. I felt like they did whatever they wanted with my grandmother. I do not recommend this place to anyone. They are not caring or compassionate. I hope no one will bring there loved here unless they absolutely have to.

Lakeview is a beautiful home and has a great view of a lake. Unfortunately patients do not get to enjoy it. Once the patient becomes part of hospice they take away food, water, and they are placed on morphine (by doctors orders). They are terminally sedated. «They call it comfort care and dying with dignity?» «They call themselves compassionate?» I believe their only concern is to give medicare the correct billing code (for the cause of death) in order to get paid.
I do NOT recommend Lakeview home to any family. The nurses are very rude! I find hospice care and their procedures to be inhumane. I regret placing my mother in hospice care, and yes my mother was euthanized!
Please research and be aware of hospice care.

No one expects to end up in a place like this.
My grandfather was extremely ill and needed medical care ²⁴⁄₇. This is the last place he was before he passed. This hospice is as good as it gets. First off, it’s in a residential area so it doesn’t feel entirely like a hospital. But here are the main reasons I liked this place for my grandpa:
–Beautiful backyard and home (it’s right by a lake)
–A very comforting and caring staff. My grandfather’s position was changed every two hours and he received different kinds of therapies to help with his illness such as musical therapy, reflexology and etc.
–Very private and exclusive location. Every patient gets their own room and can have up to three family members with them during visiting hours.
–Visting hours were from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and one family member was able to spend the night unless there were special circumstances, then another could stay.
–Kid-​friendly: They have refreshments, snacks, TV, cats in the backyard and the home is spacious.
I wish I didn’t have to write this review, but I know that my grandfather was taken care of greatly here… He passed in peace and in no pain and that’s what hospice is supposed to be about.