Horizon Hospice & Palliative Care

If you are considering end-of-life care options, I strongly recommend Horizon Hospice to help care for your loved one. I own an Adult Family Home, and all disciplines were amazing to work with. Horizon staff treated our resident with the absolute highest regard and compassion. They created a peaceful and respectful atmosphere where everyone felt included and supported. Caring for a loved one in their final days is a calling not everyone is equipped for, but the team at Horizon rose to the occasion with remarkable kindness and dedication. Thank you for all you do!

Horizon Hospice supported us through, and provided exceptional care for our Mother in her last 2 months. Their special gift to care for the terminally ill and their families,was such a blessing. At such a devastating time, know there is help and support for you from Horizon Hospice and the entire care team.

Where do I start? I never thought I would be in a position to even write a review for a Hospice company. But here we are. Horizon Hospice is the best company I've ever dealt with. Their compassion during the end of life process was amazing. Every single employee I had the pleasure of dealing with while my mother was getting ready to transition out of this life. I am posting this review mostly for Hospice Nurse Carl. He truly is one of a kind. One of the most compassionate people I have ever known. My mom loved him. He truly understood her needs. He was not only there as a hospice nurse to my mom, but as a friend. Thank you Horizon Hospice and Thank you Carl for being truly amazing. My family and I will forever be grateful.

My husband passed away and Horizon Hospice was there for me every step of the way. I HAVE to commend my “Earth Angel” Nurse Debbie Lucas. I cannot say how kind, humble, caring etc. she was. She would do anything for me and for my husband. Debbie was amazing!!! I was SO grateful that God sent my “Earth Angel” to us!

8/21/2023: I wrestled with selecting a fair rating (and revised it on 8/24). Horizon Hospice services were timely and utterly SUPERB up until I needed assistance from the on-call nurse 5 hours immediately preceding death. I no longer believe that hospice ensures a kind death. My loved one's suffering has ended. But, the experience of her dying process will haunt me for as long as I live. It only takes one hospice employee to gravely fail a dying patient. My loved one had lost her ability to swallow at 8 pm, while still responsive. All medications were oral. At midnight, my loved one began uttering loud, high-pitched groans with intermittent screeching and grimacing. After observing for 10 minutes, I called the on-call nurse, who called back immediately. I am a retired health care provider and I know that oral pain medication is poorly absorbed through the lining of the mouth. The nurse acknowledged this and advised me to continue the oral meds at a higher dose, to raise the head of the bed (which was at maximum height), and to reposition her (she had recent pelvic and sacral fractures and cried out louder when I attempted to move her). The nurse offered no other management options, did not instruct me to call back if the behaviors persisted, and did not call back to see how she was doing. I continued to give the oral medications as instructed, but they pooled at the back of her throat with gurgling. The screeching and grimacing continued for an hour, at which point she became obtunded. When the on-call nurse arrived to pronounce her, I said that no one should have to die a miserable death while enrolled in hospice. I played an audiotape of the loud groans and high-pitched screeches. The nurse said she wished I had called again, as she could have inserted a rectal catheter. But, she didn't tell me that this was an option when I called for help and did not offer any other management options. Quite frankly, she should have inserted the catheter when I called, as we both knew that increasing the dose of a poorly absorbed medication would do little to no good. I said that process improvement was mandatory, as patients often lose their ability to swallow toward the very end of life, and I asked for follow-up then and when the bereavement counselor, Christian, called a few weeks later. He said that Amy Chen or Amanda Dean would call me. No one has contacted me. 8/24/2023 Update: I revised my 8/21 rating from 3 stars to 4 stars. Heather called me this morning after reading my review. She told me that Amanda attempted to contact me, but there was an issue with my voicemail and she was unable to leave a message. We discussed the events and my concerns and she committed to ensuring that all staff were aware of best practices so that this scenario will not recur. I believe that Horizon staff are compassionate and caring. It takes a special person to work in hospice. Of all the people involved in providing services, only one could have made a more desirable choice. Quite honestly, I will never know my loved one's level of awareness at the time she appeared to be in distress. I remain grateful to all.