Hospice by the Sea Inc

Not the kind of review I want to write, but the facility and staff at this Trustbridge location was excellent. He had been battling cancer for over a decade and especially the past year it had come back aggressively. By the time he was transferred from home into Hospice by the Sea, Bill was a shell of the man he used to be. The staff was attentive and tried everything to make him as comfortable as possible. The facility was clean and seemed recently renovated. The atrium and fountain area in the middle section offers family members a quiet place to reflect and get away for a bit all while only being steps away from their loved ones. The nurses and aides were friendly and seemed compassionate. Even the security staff at the entrance was well trained and friendly too. They even allow dogs which was an especially nice touch as our pup Paddington was beloved by my father in law and it was touching for the two of them to say good bye just before his passing. I think it helped all of us, as animals can sometimes break down barriers that humans have difficulty doing. I grew up in Boca and have driven past this location probably one thousand times, but when it was finally necessary to utilize a hospice, I am glad that it was there and for the quality care they provided.

My father spent a little over a week here before he passed. We trusted Trustbridge hospice as it came highly recommend by a Trustbridge nurse. During his time at the Boca care center we were very disappointed with the care and nursing staff. It was a very hard and emotional decision to have my father enter hospice and the lack of compassion and rude comments from his nurses made it more of a difficult and heartbreaking process. Yes it was a beautiful location and a beautiful center and I will say one or two nurses were good. One in particular was outstanding. But the majority of the time left us uneasy to leave my father unsure of the care he would receive. A specific example of a comment that was made when I asked what my fathers blood pressure was and one nurse said to me “why do you want to know? He’s dying.” I was shocked and very hurt. This was said in front of my father who could clearly still hear. And when I saw my dad in pain and tried to get help I was at times given attitude. Or if I asked questions about alternative pain/calming medications i felt as if I was asking too much. I saw a doctor only twice during the week my father was there which I had to ask to see a doctor. And I was by his side from early morning until nighttime everyday. I only saw the chaplain once on the second day he was there. When my father passed it was two hours in his room before anyone came in. No one came in with tissues or to see how we were doing or if we needed anything. Two hours later the supervisor of the nurses did come in and he was very nice and I did express some of my concerns. Also I would have done anything to be able to spend the night there but being 28 weeks pregnant the chair was not an option and I wished someone would have tried to find a better option so that I could stay and feel comfortable. My overall feeling of the center is that it did not feel like a hospice. It felt no different from a hospital. Our family was expecting more care and compassion and the presence of doctors, staff, etc would have made more of an effort to check on the family and their needs. My hope for this review is that Trustbridge care center in Boca will take these concerns seriously and address them so that families there and yet to arrive will have a better experience then we did.

My father received excellent care there. The staff was caring, concerned and professional. My only real issue with the facility has nothing to do with the care received, but with the balky internet service. I wanted to be able to stay with my dad in his room while attending to important business requiring use of the internet. But, I constantly had to leave the room, often going outside to get on line. This added a level of stress for me, as I live out of town and had to stay in fairly close contact with my office. I hope that with new ownership, this can be corrected. Other than that, as I say, the care was excellent.

I can’t express enough how appreciative I am to the staff for the level of care and professionalism my mother received during her transition period. The facility was clean and beautiful. The staff was accommodating and friendly from the time I walked in to the front desk until I left that evening. I wish I could remember everyone’s name, but just to name a few was Thomas, the representative I spoke with multiple times one the phone who was very patient with me and answered all my questions, Yvonne, Stony, and Olga are just a few of the nurses that I can recall. And I wish I could remember the nurses name (a black man) that was her nurse the night she past. He was very professional and patient. I couldn’t have picked a better place to spend the remainder of my mother’s time. Thank you again to the staff of Boca by the Sea.

Everything about this place is peaceful and caring. From the moment one walks through the door to the attentiveness of the staff, social workers, nurses and doctors. Many we know have needed these delicate services and they are by far, unmatched. When our loved one passed away, we were thankful that they were here.

Although hospice gave us a list of cremation places we opted to do our own research and found Cremations By The Sea (not affiliated with hospice).

Then, after our loved one passed, we contacted Cremations By The Sea (in no way affiliated) and the care and compassion continued as seamlessly as could be expected.

We were so grateful to have this team on our side.