This is a fantastic company. The people are so caring including AIDS nurses doctors and all their staff. Are fully recommend it to anyone that is in need of hospice or palliative care. read more

Vitas is the worst. I promised my dad that he would be more comfortable with hospice care in the nursing home. Right off the bat they assigned him to the "wrong team," which postponed the care he should have received. Then it took a couple of days for the physician to come evaluate him. The last straw was when the team advised me that he "wasn't ready" for additional services, including a nurse to be there with him. Finally, my request was approved and he died a few hours later. That alone would tell a reasonable person that he was ready for the additional services when I first requested it. It would have made his transition much more comfortable and humane. To top it off, it took many days for the physician to prepare the death certificate so I could have my dad's body cremated. I would not recommend this company at all for your loved one. This happened seven years ago and I still feel guilty that I let my dad down. read more

my brother had stomach issues, Vitas came out 6 am said a nurse would follow up same day, never heard from her until 3 that afternoon when I called so she could pronounce him dead. what does that tell you? read more

If it were possible to give 10 stars, we would. VITAS and our VITAS team took one of the most painful experiences a family could go through, and made it an environment of compassion and caring. After losing my Mom mearly four months prior, we were not only raw, but our previous hospice experience with Trustbridge was quite traumatizing. The hospice nurse was callous and outright cruel. Sharing our Dad's transition with VITAS was like a night and day experience. I can't even begin to tell you how supported and comforted my family felt by the VITAS team from start to finish. They took the most painful experience and took care of EVERYTHING so the only thing we had to focus on was loving our Dad through his transition and beyond. Carrie our Admin/RN was so kind and compassionate. She literally held me up during the intake process. The night shift nurse Yvonne was an angel. She was confident, respectful of Dad and so very caring. This gave us such strength, it's hard to express. LaRonda, the respiratory therapist was so lovely and helpful, as was Joshua the day RN who was there with us when Dad passed. Without any need to question a thing, every moment was a blessing. We were surrounded by a team of angels who stood strong us so we could give our whole hearts to Dad. When the Chaplain Theresa came to our home after Dad had transitioned, she was such a steady source of comfort to all of us. She stayed for hours and offered not only a bedside service, but counseling as we struggled with our grief. She also made all the difficult phone calls to the funeral home to let them know Dad had passed, so we didn't have to--what a tremendous gift. She also offered to do the memorial service the following Friday--all included with VITAS services! I am humbled by the grace of this company. When we lost our Mom, we were so very lost. This experience changed our minds about Hospice and how it should be done. Thank you from my entire family. You are a gift. read more

VItas employs very special people who are compassionate and hard working, from the doctor to the visiting nursing staff. I thank you all for taking good care of my husband in his final hours and being there for us at this difficult time. I would highly recommend VITAS should you need hospice care for a loved one. A huge thank you to Team 310. :) read more

As I sit here tonight with my dying mother I am profoundly disappointed in Vitas. Apparently staffing issues have made it impossible for a nurse to be here during my mothers final hours. I am utterly alone and vitas has failed in supporting my mother and myself. She has been put into continuous care and there is no nurse to help her 2 days in a row. I hope the nurses enjoy their Halloween parties..... this is so messed up. read more

Vitas hospice nurses failed to show up multiple times when scheduled. Could not deliver on the amount of care they promised and the people on the phone didn't seem to have a clue. When you have someone that is bed-ridden and the extra care is needed, this is completely unacceptable. I'm sure their nurses would be wonderful if they ever showed up, but I wouldn't really know since they never did. They are completely unreliable. Stay away! read more

My mother has had TrustBridge and Vitas. I prefer Vitas because communicating with the assigned team members is far, far easier. The team members are all quite good - no complaints there. The challenge we've had with Vitas - 3 times - is getting Crisis Care staffing. The Crisis Care department has failed to staff the night my mother has gone into respiratory distress and appears to be on her last leg. I view their Crisis Care "after hours" group as incompetent. They also don't offer ANY customer support (they will not talk directly with the patient's representative.) I also suspect this Crisis Care "after hours" group are liars, saying - if pressed - that someone will show up, when they know they won't. That is my experience tonight. It is 3:00 AM and the nurse has not shown up and is not answering her phone. My mother was officially put in Crisis Care at 8:00 PM. Obviously, if someone is put in Crisis Care (and not "oh, tomorrow will do care") staff should be provided pronto - in my mind, that means within 4 hours - and within 6 hours at the outside. I will also add that the Crisis Care nurses and aides are hit or miss. Some are great. Others not so much. Just be prepared to advocate. So go in knowing that the experience is not likely to be horrible, but neither will it be stellar and smooth - there will be pluses and minuses. ---------- p.s. It is now 5:45 AM and they still have not sent a nurse to monitor my mother. Useless. --------- p.p.s. Lowering my rating from 3 stars to 2 stars. I still prefer Vitas to TrustBridge, but until they get Crisis Care staffing fixed, I'll leave this rating at 2 stars. ** No nurse ever showed up for the first night. The next two nights the nurses were fine, but the aide who showed up during the days was using her phone to watch videos and make personal calls -- audibly. Not okay. This was addressed with another staff member in a prior round of Crisis Care. ------- p.p.p.s. Back to 3 stars due to call back from the Patient Care Administrator putting a plan in place to ensure my mother gets timely and appropriate Crisis Care staff. (Note: This is a personal solution. I cannot guarantee what you will encounter, but I encourage you to advocate for your loved one if things are not to your standards.) read more

Stay far far away from Vitas! Everyone considering Vitas should know that their Emergency Telecare department is BS. They do NOT respond to emergencies. They only have one nurse at night and weekends for a very large area. It is the norm for a nurse to respond 2 hours after an emergency is called in. When I called their emergency # when my mother had trouble breathing - the nurse came 2 hours later and my poor mom DIED in the meantime. They did not correctly treat my mom's bedsore and, through their laziness and neglect, it turned into a Stage 4 where you saw the bone. Vitas will not take responsibility for any of their mistakes or only having one nurse to man the whole Palm Beach area after hours. read more

I couldn't have asked for better care than Vitas Hospice gave me and my mom. They were my life saver. Words cannot express my gratitude for their help during my moms critical and non critical times. From Dr Dupree (who texted me even on weekends and holidays) , the support staff in the office (merry) to every single nurse that had a hand in my moms care. I cannot sing their praises loud enough. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Merryl, sweet Bea's daughter. read more

Based on other experiences with Hospice care, Vitas is at the bottom. Even though they came recommended by a doctor, this company is not how you want you loved one to be cared for. In the past couple of weeks there are many examples of the poor care provided by them for my ailing mother. They are not dependable, do not come when they set up appointments, do not call to cancel or tell you they will be late. If we called their number to find out why, we only got an answer machine. The aides did not come on the appointed days to bather her. The nurse was unable to get here for some reason to dress mother's wounds. The staff seemed uncaring and undependable. Gratefully we have other hospice options. read more

There aren't enough superlatives in the English language to describe the care my father received in his last days from VITAS. Everyone whom we encountered was caring and compassionate. The nurses, Pierre and Kel were superb in their concern for my father and for my sister and me as well as we experience3d our father's death. When Kel arrived at my father's home, he told me he was an Iraq War veteran and was a medic before going to nursing school. I told him that my Dad was a WWII vet and was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds in the Battle of the Bulge. Kel said he would be honored to care for another vet, and it was as if he shifted into another gear. He was amazing. We were fortunate to have found VITAS after a terrible experience with Hospice of Palm Beach. It was like night and day. read more

A Nightmare that nobody in their last days should experience. I've never experienced any Hospice that is so crude, rude, inexperienced and that includes the Nurses and Physicians if you want to call them that. My Father was in so much pain and they would never change his pain medication to try to get him some relief. All they wanted to do was to keep him sedated so that they wouldn't have to be bothered with him. I was doing my best to get him transferred to somewhere else, but he did not live long enough for me to do that. They have no idea what the meaning of the word Compassion is! I would never ever wish anyone to have to experience what my Father had to go through with Vitas. Run, run far away from anything that is related to Vitas. There is so more that I'd like to say but my language would be inappropriate. If I could rate them with ZERO STARS, I would! They deserve none! read more

Warning unprofessional and cold staff.. they leave the family members hanging Rude .during the most changeling time of life

A Nightmare! It is important to understand that VITAS is a FOR profit entity! This is not part of the Hospice that we generally think of when we think Hospice! The people that attended my husband were unskilled, rude & my husband was in constant pain. One aide had to be removed by the police! Compassion is not part of their vocabulary. The bottom line profit seems to be the focus here, definitely not the patient. Call the REAL hospice - they will control the pain and are NOT FOR PROFIT!! read more

This is my first and, hopefully, only experience with Hospice. I have only good things to say about Vitas and particularly Team 304. The nurses, the Head Nurse Marcelina and the Chaplain Paul Lewis were terrific. Marcelina was gracious and kind when my wife passed away. Paul Lewis came to my house that morning and helped me with funeral home information and disposing of medicines that were no longer needed. He offered to pray with me but I declined and he adhered to my wishes, a true professional gentleman throughout. read more

They are the worse company I have ever seen. No compassion at all. All they care about is money. It's too late for my love one and this will be one of my regrets in life. I chose them and thought they would treat people in the last few days of their life a priority. She was left without enough medication and in pain. Not to mention nurses don't care. They are over worked but billed Medicare 6000-8000 a month for basically nothing. Doctor did respond to calls. I could go on and on. Just very sad to have a relative treated this way. read more

So disappointed with Vitas, the lack of service, communication & compassion. I am sure they are billing for services I have never even had. I am going to ask for a full accounting. Suppose to see a nurse once a week, doctor once a month and when u call all u get is run a round. During this time everything is stressful, no need to make it more so. Going to try hospice by the sea as I have heard wonderful things about them. Will update post then. read more

The worst place for health care only want your money , My wife was a patient there seems the nurses know nothing ,my, asked wife had a jerking motion, her eye stayed open for two days, asked nurse they dont know ,on Thanksgiving of 2011 about 630am i was going to nursing home bought donuts for the nurses placed them on their desk said HAPPY THANKSGIVING and went into my wifes room SHE HAD PASSED NO ONE TOLDME , then some one came in and said it happened five minutes ago . After a few days a women with an accent would keep calling my daughter ,she would not say why wanted to talk to me I called SHE SAID WE HAVE BIG TROUBLE YOUR WIFE NO HAVE INSURANCE , I said read me her SS# well it was wrong they had wrong SS# then the HOT SHOT NURSE CALLED MY DAUGHTER AND SAID HELLO PAT, Pat was the name of my wife I really think what they did is criminal , thneyshould be reported to medicare and state of florida bill read more

My mother was so amazingly taken care of!! The care she got from all the nurses was amazing!! They were ALL SOO caring!! They all gave me their phone numbers, so when I went home to rest, I could call them at any time!! My mom was kept so clean and comfortable! One of the nurses even gave her a manicure! The people that work for this company are angels!!! All I can say is the last four days my mother had left on this earth, she was so peaceful and comfortable!! read more

Up until last Tuesday I would have given Vitas either 4 or 5 stars. The first time my mother required 'critical care' she was living in an assisted living facility in Boca Raton. Vitas came, set everything up in her apartment and for a little over 2 weeks they gave her excellent 24/7 care. When she no longer required constant care they came to check on her vitals at least once a week. I learned that the reason they did not completely dismiss my mom from their care and left their bed and wheelchair was if my mother took ill again they would take care of her instead of her having to go to the ER. A couple of months later she did once again require critical care. It was a great comfort to me to know that she was being so well cared for. When her physical and mental health began to worsen I moved her to an assisted living house where there were 5 residents and at least 2 aides at all times so she was getting excellent everyday care. The Vitas nurse still came once a week to check on her. On Mother's Day when I went to see her the aides told me that my mom appeared to be getting a cold. On Tuesday morning they told me that her cold had gotten worse and they had called Vitas at 8:30 am. They were told that her team was in a meeting and that someone would call or come when it was over. I got there around noon time and learned that they had made a second call at around 11::30 because they still had not heard from the nurse assigned to my mother. I was finally able to get her nurse to call me and she said that she would be there in 45 minutes to an hour. An hour and a half later I texted the social worker on the team hoping that she could do something to get someone to see my mom. I then spent the next 3 hours calling and leaving messages for her 'team', and texting to the social worker. During those 4 hours I watched my mother suffer with pain and congestion. In one of the several text messages to & from the social worker I was told that they do their best but sometimes their best isn't good enough. This was completely unacceptable to me and I said so. I finally had to leave at 4:30. An hour or 2 later the nurse finally showed up and determined that my mother required critical care and they sent an aide who does not work directly for Vitas to stay with my mom. At around 1 in the morning that aide called me to tell me that my mother had just died. I don't know if the outcome would have been different if the nurse had shown up earlier in the day but I do believe that she could have been made more comfortable in her final hours. i believe that Vitas failed both my mother and me.. read more

Our mother spent four days at the Vitas hospice wing at West Palm Hospital in West Palm Beach. Those long days were sadly marked by a lot of uncaring "care" and ignoring of the family and our questions. The setting was not much different from most other hospital wings. The room was utilitarian and shared with another person, with a curtain in between. Our mother was moved from a private room because she tried to get out of bed and they "wanted her closer to the nurse's station to look in on her more." That did not seem to happen. During our time in late January 2015 our mother and us, her family, seemed a low priority for everyone but the social worker, chaplains, and a couple of nurses. Repeated requests for a telephone number for her room and the nurse's station (to avoid being sent to the wrong place repeatedly by the switchboard of the hospital) were ignored. When we had questions about our mother's breathing and comfort, we were told by one nurse "they're like that" and were accused of "stimulating" our mother, thus being responsible for her agitation. (We were telling her it was OK to let go, as they advised us.) When our mother had a rough night, we got no information until days later, despite asking each day how her night was and for the doctor to call one of us. When we questioned the use of an antipsychotic drug and whether the level of morphine administered might be adjusted to allow for possible interaction, they misinterpreted this as our wanting to OK pain medication instead of treating her as needed. When we complained that the doctor was not calling our family point of contact, a nurse manager/supervisor assumed nevertheless that our problems developed from not having one point of contact for medical questions. The doctor who supposedly saw her within 24 hours of admittance wrote a report with false information, claiming she had diseases she did not have. The supervising nurse didn't listen, repeatedly, and listening skills and attention to detail need intensive training for many of the staff. I don't know whether compassion can be taught. When we requested a copy of her medical records (beyond the initial doctor's report and medication dosing), we were told this had to be approved by the (second) doctor. (The doctors change weekly and seem to come early in the morning when families are often trying to get some sleep.) A week later, we are still waiting for this record. We were upset enough with our mother's care that we arranged a transfer to another hospice. This required hours on what turned out to be the day before our mother died. There's a small meeting room including a computer with internet access and a telephone that assisted us in arranging this. There was also a larger meeting room, utilitarian looking and dominated by a large screen tv with a refrigerator, coffee machine, microwave and snacks. The cafeteria serves unhealthy, bad food almost exclusively. Vitas staff did pay attention to our mother's pain relief to ease her transfer to another hospice where the caring attitude, attention to patients, families, and details, and sensitivity and warmth reminded us what hospices are supposed to provide. At that hospice, her dry skin was moisturized, cream was applied to her red heel, and pillows arranged around her body to maximize her comfort. Our questions were answered and every staffer who interacted with her and us was caring, warm, and attentive. For what a hospice should provide, go to the Charles C. Gerstenberg Center on East Avenue, off of 45th St., in West Palm Beach It is is part of Trustbridge, which now includes the Hospice of Palm Beach County and Hospice by the Sea. We strongly recommend avoiding the Vitas hospice wing at West Palm Hospital. read more