Muh Muh Muh My Corona (virus)

To qualify for hospice you must have a condition with a specific life expectancy. All done actuarially.

Risk management, except nothing basic about it.

 

Adams has the 'Rona?

LOLOLOLOLOL

 

Incomplete data likely masks a rise in U.S. Covid cases as focus on infection counts fades

 

More than 200,000 new cases since March 1 in a city of 25 million people, yet there's not a single official Covid death in Shanghai. Those are some miracle-workers up north. I'm almost sad I turned down two offers that would've taken me to Shanghai so I could see the miracle in person ... emphasis on "almost".

 

I worked in medical model psych hospital for a long time. The hospital I worked at was a collaborative thing between Frist's company and a uni with a big medical footprint. People at the main med called it "Little Crazy House" and Baby Psych" because all of the units but one were for peds and ados.

Pretty close to on the nose:

Hospice care at home offers patients and their families more options and less interference from those who may disagree about religious beliefs, care, right to die with dignity, etc. There are some hospice care centers in Nashville and many of them are excellent options for people who cannot stay at home. I have not delt with it in my immediate family, but my extended family used in-home hospice and I think it's the better option. Since COVID, I have had clients go to the hospital knowing they weren't coming out. What were once step-down units (subacute, rehabilitation) have at least 1/3 to 1/2 of their beds conditionally allocated to hospice care. The public-speak is that it goes beyond palliative intervention. Since I am not on those units, it would be hard for me to say with confidence if this is accurate. This year, Baptist-St. Thomas lowered the number of beds for this purpose by 15% according to some reliable sources I've seen. I have no idea if VUMC (Vandy Medical for y'all playing in the First World) still has their parking garage turned COVID unit. I'll see if anyone over there knows if the need for it has lessened.

 

Both of my wife's parents went through in-home hospice care. The big advantage is that they are in familiar and comfortable surroundings, typically with family around them handling much of the care. The disadvantage is that it requires someone to be there the great majority of the time, and that other than a few hours through the day that a hospice nurse is present there isn't much relief to be had. It depends totally on the availability of trustworthy and competent people to take on the caregiver role.

My mother-in-law became ill enough that she was moved to a full time hospice before she passed, and that was a relief because by then we had already gone through her husband's passing and everyone was very tired and emotionally drained. She was just a few minutes from our house, as opposed to her home which was nearly an hour away. In all cases the hospice nurses that helped them were absolute gems, kind, helpful, and supportive of both the patient and the family.

 

I think everything rides on the provider. My uncle had a terrible experience with at home hospice in rural Tennessee. Conversely I had a friend whose mama spent the last two weeks of her life (just before the Great Shutdown of 2020) in UAB’s palliative care unit and both were treated like royalty.

 

Thanks.
EDIT: Thanks to @Neutral Corner as well.

 

The provider and the insurance carrier can make or break you. A good competent doctor's office running interference and filing things properly and a good insurance policy make things much easier. When you're over 65 most people are relying on Medicare, which can be good or bad and is certainly more limited. Again, a second insurer can make a huge difference.

The American system leaves many people out in the cold regarding their health care, particularly if they don't understand the system or have anyone to advocate for them. Often this worsens as people age due to their circumstances.

When it comes to hospice, you occasionally get some fly by night outfits that are just this side of (or maybe beyond) the Medicare fraud line. If you get hooked up with one of those, given the length of time a hospice patient is in their care they might be in dire straights before you come to understand that you're using one.

 

Too bad. You could have learned to control your soul's desire for freedom.

 

So I'm at a maskless party this past Friday and a guy's yammering at me for 45 minutes about his 11-year-old's hockey exploits. Today I find he tested positive Saturday. I am triple vaxxed and have no symptoms, but WTF?