ComplaintsforNathan Adelson Hospice

• Initial Complaint

  06/18/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Using Nathan Adelson Hospice is my biggest regret as they are the most unprofessional company I have ever dealt with. They don't give a **** about the family. They falsely post on their website "We honor Veterans" absolutely not. I would not refer anyone who is VA to Nathan Adelson as they attempted to cause me severe financial loss of my VA Benefits. Not 1 management person in the entire company would pick up the phone to speak with me, and not 1 management person from the Director down would return any of my voicemails with pleas for help because their Records Clerk ****** was withholding crucial VA documents from the doctor signing off on the death certificate, jerking me around, and deliberately causing delay of the death certificate. I called and left voicemails for *********************, President * **** ************************** VP ******************* * the manger over the extremely unprofessional and vindictive Records Clerk ******, ************************** Chief Nursing ******** ************************** Social Worker, not one person ever called me back and they all allowed the vindictive Records Clerk to take no action, lie to me, refusing to do her job and withholding the VA documents which could cause me to lose my VA Benefits including monthly financial support for lifetime, medical, dental, vision benefits, Long ********* Benefits, etc. I have never dealt with any organization where NO ONE mgmt will answer the phone, NO ONE in all of the management structure would return a voicemail requesting help. All they cared about was getting the ******** money off my husband and they didn't give a **** about his wife. Incompetent record keeping, did not fulfill any of the promises they made me, didn't call me when my husband died. This is the most horrible despicable company I have ever dealt with. I made numerous phone calls for days as their records clerk abusing her power and authority over me in a vindictive manner with extremely unprofessional behavior and I have proof in black * white emails!

  Business response

  06/28/2024

  Dear *****/Sir,
  
  
  Nathan Adelson Hospice appreciates the feedback provided by the submitter.  We are familiar with the situation described and understand the stress that our patients and their families cope with while handling challenging health situations.
  
  
  While we will not divulge the specific details of the submitter's case due to patient privacy laws, we assure you that there were mitigating circumstances that were clearly explained to the submitter every step of the way. Circumstances beyond our control caused unusual delays that our team worked diligently to overcome as quickly as possible, and the submitter was kept informed by the appropriate members of our team every step of the way.  Several other agencies were also involved, complicating the matter further and making a rapid resolution impossible. At no time did any employee of Nathan Adelson Hospice act to cause further stress or hardship; in fact, our team did everything that the submitter asked us to do, and the outcome was exactly what was requested.  We believe the root of the submitter's concern is related to the challenges we and other agencies faced attempting to help her understand the various legal and administrative requirements involved with the fulfillment of the request. 
  
  
  We thank you for the opportunity to respond.

  Customer response

  07/03/2024

   
  Complaint: 21863349
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  This is more of the same, non-responsive behavior, doesnt address any of the issues I have raised, complete denial of the problems in spite of email proof. I dont understand what is wrong with this organization. This is appalling behavior. Let me outline the issues again and I want a response from Nathan Adelson addressing each of these issues.
  
  1 This response is addressed me as Madam/Sir, not using my name. This is clearly a canned response and does not address any valid issue I raised. I would like a response to the issues.
  
  2 While we will not divulge the specific details of the submitter's case due to patient privacy laws     In the Admission paperwork that ****** the Records Clerk merely scans as 1 document so that none of the staff know what is submitted. I submitted a ************* of ********* a *************** of ********* our Trust documents designating me as my husbands power of attorney and his end of life wishes. These are legal documents which entitle me to know the details of my husbands care. Why are they not honoring legal notarized documents and communicating with me fully. I want them to look in their file and see the legal documents I provided and no one ever told me they would not speak to me due to patient privacy,they just never spoke to me at all. Zero communication despite leaving messages for a call back.
  
  3 Circumstances beyond our control caused unusual delays that our team worked diligently to overcome as quickly as possible, and the submitter was kept informed by the appropriate members of our team every step of the way.  Several other agencies were also involved, complicating the matter further and making a rapid resolution impossible. At no time did any employee of Nathan Adelson Hospice act to cause further stress or hardship; in fact, our team did everything that the submitter asked us to do, and the outcome was exactly what was requested.    Every sentence of this statement is false, and I have submitted proof that this is false, including emails from *********************** at ************* as witness of these events as his statements in his emails indicate. There were no circumstances beyond their control. Yes, this was a Coroners case and the coroner called me promptly on Day 1, I provided the medical history and timeline of my husbands decline with his 4 hospitalizations, 3 surgeries and the events leading to each fall.The coroners finished up her investigation with our conversation, she told me she only had to obtain the hospital and nursing home records and it was immediately cleared that same day. I sent proof of *********************** at ************* verified that the Coroner was done and we were solely waiting on the doctor at Nathan Adelson to sign off, however ****** the Records Clerk was withholding the ******** Disability Ruling document from the doctor so she could not see the language Agent Orange. I have submitted an abundance of emails as proof that I sent these documents, also spoke and sent the documents to *********************** but ****** stopped ******* from sending the documents to the doctor, see the email as proof. Multiple emails while I keep getting the same question but my email answers are never forwarded to the ******************* who was signing off on the death certificate. ******************* said on our phone call with *********************** present as a witness that she had none of the information I had sent by email to ******,****** never forwarded it, ******************* had none of the VA documents that she needed and I have attached proof of the email that was sent while on this 3 way conference call because ******************* had none of the documents or answers due to ****** withholding the information for the ******************* and it drug out for days, due ******************* not having the information she needed and as soon as I emailed the documents directly to *******************, my email of proof has been submitted, ******************* was able to immediately sign off on the death certificate and it was done by the end of our phone call. There was absolutely no circumstances beyond their control, they did not work diligently, I left voicemails for every member of management stating ****** was withholding the documents from the doctor and yet they refused to call me back, help in any way, and they let it drag on and on with no movement solely because of ****** withholding the documents and my answers via email to the doctors questions. ******************* verified on the phone call with *********************** as witness that she never received any of my responses to her questions, despite the many emails I sent,****** withheld them and all of management refused to call me despite my pleas for help against this tyrant ******. Why is this organization refusing to acknowledge the email proof of the ongoing problems with ****** withholding the documents? And the email proof that ******************* never received anything from ******. Why is this organization denying the facts despite witnesses?
  
  3 This response does not address why I never received the doctors evaluation of my husband on his admission as promised. On the day of admission, the head nurse *********, told me the doctor will evaluate your husband and call you to give you her evaluation of his condition within an hour.We did not know if my husband would be inpatient at Nathan Adelson and pass there or eventually be returned to ******************** Nursing home where they were holding his 2 rooms, his regular room and his room in the ************ Unit,where he was receiving advanced care due to his post op issues. 2 rooms were being held and I needed to communicate a status to the nursing home. The doctor never called me, so I spoke with Nurse ********* again and she assured me that she would leave the doctor a message to call me with the doctors evaluation on admission. I called back after several hours and the receptionist said the doctor left for the day. I left a message that I needed to speak with the doctor and I wanted the doctors evaluation. I called the next morning and again left a message for the doctor to tell me her evaluation of my husband.Again, Medical & Financial POA documents, legal and notarized in their possession that I am my husbands designated representative per the legal documents. They have no reason to claim patient privacy, I have spousal rights and proper legal documents submitted on admission. We have been married for ************************************* 2015 with all of my husbands wishes,1yr after his 2014 Parkinsons diagnosis.
  
  4- This response contains no acknowledgement of the email proof I sent which clearly chronologically verifies everything I am claiming.
  
  5 This doesnt address unprofessional comments, refusal to do her job, refusal to do her job competently, and the deliberate delay made by ******, with email proof:
  - She admits to me that she scanned all Admission documents, the POAs, the **** the ** POLST, the Trust documents, the VA ******** document, all of it as 1 document and there are too many pages so she states in a nasty tone that she Is NOT going to look through them to see the ******** documents because there are too many pages. Refusal to do her job competently or professionally, refusal to do her job at all. Why doesnt this organization scan the document in categories so you can see the POAs, Death documents and VA documents? This is pure laziness by ****** the Records Clerk, and not 1 staff member knew that my husband was VA 100% disability, while their webpage says We Honor Vets. They need to remove that statement.
  - She refused to look at the documents I submitted on Admission which they have, she demands I send the necessary military documents again, but still never scans them so that staff and the doctor can see the documents. More incompetent, obstruction, and causes problems that the doctor and staff cant see the VA military documents.
  - She says Well, Im going to shut that down! When she finds out that *********************** was going to help me get the VA ******** documents to the doctor. She took help and assistance away from me so that she could control withholding the documents from the doctor and prevent the death certificate from being completed.
  While withholding the VA ******** documents, ****** uses a sing song voice to say Dont worry, theyll get it (death certificate) done. Very unprofessional and she is being a controlling tyrant. And she never submits the VA documents to *******************.
  - She stated to me in a nasty tone Ill process it when I feel like it!. Again if there is any recording of phone conversations, this was said to me and the emails are proof of her deliberately delaying and refusing to do her job. Extreme unprofessional behavior and not 1 management person would call me back when I reported this.
  - She yells at me, Stop calling!! and she tells me to give them 24-48hrs to complete the death certificate. It was all a lie and a deliberate delay tactic, nothing was done ater 48hrs, and she knew she would leave early on Friday for the holiday Easter weekend so I could not reach her, and my email with ******************* is proof with *********************** as a witness that ****** never gave ******************* the VA ******** documents that I sent over 5 times nor the emails answers I sent to doctors questions, nothing was provided to ******************* as ****** withheld documents and prevented the death certificate from being completed. Phone recordings and emails prove this.
  
  6 This response does not address why I was never called in advance or at the time of my husbands death. The nurse called me at exactly 7am, like she had waited until I might be awake. She told me my husband had died at 625am. I asked why she had waited over half an hour to call me when I left instructions that they could call me day or night, no matter the hour. Her response was Well, we had to clean up.
  
  7 This response does not address why they falsified the time of death on the death certificate and changed the time of death to 655am,due to the fact that the nurse knew I was upset when she told me at 7am that my husband had died at 625am, so they falsified the time of death. This is unethical. Why is this organization doing unethical and irresponsible practices of not notifying me and changing the time of death for the death certificate.
  
  8 This response from Nathan Adelson and I have no idea who this respondent is since she is not part of the management team at the Nathan Adelson location, is a canned statement and makes me question, if I have been treated this unethically, then how was my husband treated in their facility? I have no idea since no doctor ever spoke with me and I still have lots of unanswered questions because no one communicated with me ever. There is no excuse for this unprofessional and unethical behavior.
  
  *************************
  

  Customer response

  07/03/2024

  In addition to my response today 7/3/24, I would like to submit a 9th issue which has not been addressed by Nathan Adelson Hospice.

  9 - I have never in my entire life encountered an organization where every manager in the building refused to return a voicemail message outlining a complaint against an employee and pleas for help because ******'s withholding the VA Disability Ruling Letter which states "Agent Orange" and expressing that this was a dire situation and pleading for help as I could lose my Lifetime VA Benefits if the death certificate was completed without the wording "Agent Orange" on the death certificate. Why did not 1 manager in the entire facility return my call in this crucial situation which would be huge financial loss for me? I would still be sitting here today, if *********************** had not picked up the phone and spoke with me. Once I made my plea to him, that ****** was withholding the documents from *******************, even though he is not hands on in the administration process, he still understood the dire situation and the severe consequences and he agreed to locate ******************* and have a 3 way phone call. IF I had not been able to speak with ******************* and email her the VA Disability Ruling Letter documents, I could possibly be still sitting here today with no death certificate or a death certificate incorrectly issued without the proper language the VA needs to approve my VA compensation due to my husband's 100% Service Related Disability Rating. I am shocked and appalled that I called every manager in the facility, some more than once and why given the detailed voicemails I left did not 1 manager ever call me back. Nothing was moving forward and could not move forward due to ****** withholding the documents I sent more than 5 times nor the answers I provided to *********************** questions, nothing was given to her and the email with *********************** email address proves that. This seems so irresponsible in light of the "We Honor Vets" statement on their website, as well as ethically, morally and unprofessional on the part of every manager in the facility. ONLY *********************** helped me, or I still would have nothing today, or I would have lost my VA Widow Compensation and Benefits. I would like a response on this extremely unprofessional behavior to not care about a Vet Widow.

  *************************

  Business response

  07/08/2024

  Dear *****/Sir,

  Due to the nature of this complaint, it's impossible for us to share the relevant information to fully explain why it's not valid.  HIPAA regulations in ****** prohibit us from sharing protected health information about the decedent with the BBB - please see NRS 629.061.1 and NRS 133.055.  

  I have investigated this concern and was part of the ongoing efforts to satisfy the complainant's requests in real time during the 5 days it took to sign the death certificate with the requested information. No amount of explanation of the extenuating circumstances satisfied the complainant; we believe she was given inaccurate information by the mortuary which greatly fueled her anxiety and anger. (Death certificate amendments are NOT difficult and errors/ommissions are easily corrected.)  There was never a risk of her being denied VA benefits due to our actions, but again - it's impossible to fully explain without sharing protected health information.  In fact, the outcome of the situation was exactly what the complainant requested at the outcome, it was simply not possible to achieve that outcome as rapidly as the complainant wanted. 

  To seek futher guidance I'll contact your office during normal business hours. I look forward toyour assistance.

  *************************, VP of Quality and Education

  Business response

  07/15/2024

  ******************,

  
  

  Due to HIPAA patient privacy laws, we have nothing further to add to our response.  We appreciate your assistance and remain available for any further questions.

  
  

  Thanks,

  ****

  Customer response

  07/15/2024

  I am attaching a HIPPA Form so that a representative of Nathan Adelson can respond to me regarding these 9 issues I have presented. This matter is of great importance to me because I had limited options of Hospice due to my husband's Veteran status. Nathan Adelson posts on their website, "We Honor Veterans" and that did not happen, and still today no one will speak to me regarding this matter. This is very serious, I almost lost my Lifetime VA Benefits, which include income, as well as medical, dental, vision benefits and long term care benefits because of deliberate acts by *********************************, the Records Clerk, and not 1 manager in the entire facility ever returned any of my voicemails with pleas for help. Also, I never got communication from the doctor upon admission, as promised. I still have enormous questions about how he was handled, such as removing his wound vac, leaving it at the hospital, and how was this large amount of infection fluids and blood drainage handled? I don't know because the doctor never returned my calls. I left 4 messages and the Nurse left a message too, for the doctor to speak with me. I have just now received the *** for services, and I have questions as he was not sent for "home health care" that was billed, but it states that on the ***. I received absolutely no communication from anyone in charge. I am his spouse with spousal rights and his power of attorney, there should be conversation with me and questions answered. I feel very strongly about making management aware of what happened, so that no other Veteran, or Veteran's spouse, or Veteran's family members, endure what I went through and I don't understand why there was a complete refusal to speak with me in light of "We Honor Veterans" and with ***** of ******** documents on file upon admission.

  I do want to know that there is acknowledgement of these 9 issues so that no other Veteran or their spouse will ever suffer what I was put through, but still today there has been a refusal to communicate with me regarding this very serious matter which occurred, which there are witnesses, most likely recorded phone calls as evidence, and physical evidence of emails of deliberate efforts to block me from receiving my VA Widow Benefits as ********************************* was withholding the VA documents that the doctor needed to note Agent Orange on the Death Certificate, as well as withholding my email responses to the doctors questions, as well as blocking others, ie; *********************** from helping me forward the documents to the doctor requesting the documents which state "Agent Orange". As well as ******************* assuring me that ******'s manager ******* was doing an investigation and she would call me as part of her investigation, but she did not call either. Why is there absolutely no communication with me while ***** of ******** documents are on file. I am giving you an opportunity to communicate and answer my legitimate questions.

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