Are there any Dis'ers who are Hospice nurses?

[Krisu]

If there are I need to run this past you. I work for a Primary Care Doctor and we have a patient who is sadly dying and was referred to our local Hospice. This lady had TB back in the 1930's and is noted in her history. She has lung cancer and the only way they will accept her is one of two ways to rule out TB. The first is to have a respiratory tech go to the house to try and get a sputum sample or a lung biopsy!! Meanwhile the poor woman has very little time left
and cannot get the Hospice care she needs! Is this usual? We all feel terrible and the Doctor is furious. I need to know if this is a normal procedure.:(

[Disney Doll]

I have no idea, but I just wanted to send good thoughts to that poor lady!!!!

[Krisu]

I see you don't live very far from me!

[EROS]

Krisu, TB can indeed mimic lung cancer. However, if there is documentation that she has carcinoma, there should NOT be any difficulty securing hospice care for her. Is hospice questioning whether or not she has cancer????

[Krisu]

She had a lung CT. Maybe they are questioning the diagnosis. Even if she did have TB, does that mean she can't get care? They refused to use isolation procedures. Does that mean anyone with a communicable disease doesn't get care? They didn't offer to go to the home either.

[RNMOM]

This does seem odd...do they provide terminal care for any other possibly communicable diseases?

Is there another hospice in the area that might assist?

Are there any home care nurses you can utilize? Some of them may have done or worked with hospice in the past.

I hope this dear woman is able to get some help to make her death more comfortable.