Gentiva Health Svc

Pros

• The chaplain was supportive.
• Brittany stayed with the family during a snowstorm and showed compassion and guidance.
• Renee Duvall was amazing, caring, and compassionate with families.
• Zane was the most compassionate and caring nurse for the aunt.
• The staff is amazing, easy to talk to, and puts families at ease.
• Gentiva Hospice has taken great care of families and provides comfort to those in need.
• Randi and the team have impressed families and give their all to patients.
• The compassionate care from all disciplines is unmatched.

Cons

• One reviewer states Gentiva is the worst agency and that they make excuses for their employees' wrongdoing.
• The nurse did not visit until after the loved one had passed and allegedly prescribed medication by phone without checking on the patient.
• The on-call nurse allegedly told the family not to take the patient to the emergency room and failed to assist.
• The agency is accused of lying about supplies being out of stock or back ordered, leading families to pay out of pocket.
• A CNA is described as lazy, only showing up for about 10 minutes.
• A nurse claimed she could not provide a schedule or guaranteed arrival time because she had too many patients.

Review

What emerges from these accounts is a deeply mixed portrait of Gentiva Hospice, with experiences ranging from overwhelming gratitude and relief to sharp frustration and disillusionment. On one end, families describe a level of compassion, presence, and practical support that brought comfort during trying times. On the other, they recount missed visits, delayed responses, conflicting information, and organizational gaps that left loved ones without timely care or material support when it mattered most. The threads weave together to form a complex mosaic: not a single story, but many, each shaped by the personalities of individual staff members and the pressures of serving many patients at once.

Several families recount heartbreakingly clear failures in timely care around crucial moments. One account describes a night when a patient's condition deteriorated and the on-call nurse advised against taking the patient to the emergency department, even as the loved one passed away before any nurse could arrive. The event included a late-night phone call at 11:09 PM to ask whether a medication had been taken, followed by the nurse's non-arrival until after the death, and prescriptions being issued without a home visit. In that narrative, the repetition of "excuses" for why a nurse couldn't come - short staffing, busy schedules, and prior commitments - left the family feeling abandoned in a moment of crisis. The frustration extended to promises of more training and inconsistent explanations from staff, culminating in a perception that the agency prioritized appearances of coverage over actual, timely patient care.

Another strand centers on systemic issues around supplies and budgeting. One family claimed that the agency, under Humana's umbrella, consistently blamed back-ordered or out-of-stock supplies, even when the family could verify through other channels that items were available. They alleged that this led to families being forced to purchase supplies out of pocket, counting on Hospice to provide what was supposed to be included in care. The accusation was not merely about inconvenience; it suggested a structural disconnect between the care plan and the practical resources families needed to implement that plan at home. In these stories, financial and logistical constraints appeared to compromise the very fabric of in-home hospice support.

Names recur across the negative experiences, underscoring a sense of accountability or the lack thereof. A CNA named Lutrinia was described as "very lackadaisical," with brief visits that left little time for true assistance. A nurse named Delneta allegedly offered discouraging, dismissive or inflexible responses about scheduling and patient care, even insisting that family members were the primary caregivers while implying that caretaking tasks were not part of her role. A chaplain named Wayne was portrayed as someone who introduced himself as the chaplain only to reveal plans to move into bereavement work, which family members perceived as a lack of consistent spiritual support when it was most needed. The clinical manager Janessa was cited as offering an explanation that day-to-day care would be inconsistent due to a large patient load, while also suggesting that discussing funeral arrangements might be an inevitable part of hospice conversations. Together, these experiences contributed to a sense that, for some families, the organizational culture at that moment felt transactional rather than compassionate, with scheduling and emotional support taking a back seat to the logistics of managing a large caseload.

Yet even within these criticisms, there are vivid, recurring testimonials to care that authorities and families alike found deeply meaningful. Several reviewers praised the dedication and compassion of individual caregivers who made a real difference in the lives of their patients. A nurse named Brittany, in particular, is singled out for unwavering presence during a snowstorm, staying with the family to comfort and guide them through the final moments. Zane, another nurse, is described as an exceptionally caring professional who connected with an aunt in a memory care facility, communicating clearly, offering comfort, and even attending the moment of death with the family. The chaplain who stayed close by, the posthumous support, and the general warmth of the nursing staff are frequently highlighted as the lifelines that gave families dignity and reassurance when medical care was most needed at home. Randi and Renee Duvall are repeatedly mentioned as exemplars of caring and professional engagement - Randi for overall responsiveness and reliability, and Renee for genuine warmth, a reassuring smile, and insightful explanations about hospice services.

Across multiple reviews, the tone shifts from crisis and grievance to gratitude and relief. Several accounts consistently describe Gentiva Hospice as a source of substantial, practical help for families coping with difficult diagnoses like ALS. In these stories, hospice teams brought hands-on comfort, home-based care, and a sense that "they can do so much more comfort care for your loved one than a regular doctor," with an emphasis on minimizing painful doctor visits and focusing on home-centered quality of life. The presence of supportive staff in the home, including someone who could bridge medical tasks with emotional and spiritual support, is repeatedly framed as essential to the patient's and family's well-being. Phrases like "kind, caring, patient, and at the heart of what they do" echo throughout these positive testimonials, alongside remarks that staff were "easy to work with," highly communicative, and deeply committed to service.

The accounts collectively suggest that Gentiva Hospice can be a source of immense comfort and practical relief when it functions as an integrated, attentive team. Families describe teams that work well with patient facilities, that respond quickly to calls, and that provide comprehensive emotional and spiritual support. They praise the consistency, even in challenging circumstances, of staff who show up not just to perform clinical tasks but to listen, explain, and guide families through complex and painful experiences. The positive stories emphasize the human side of hospice care - the bedside presence, the regular check-ins, the spiritual support, and the reassurance that someone will be there to help navigate the end-of-life journey.

Taken together, these narratives illustrate the high-stakes, high-variance nature of in-home hospice care within a large organization. The most compelling takeaways point to two core needs: dependable, timely care and clear, compassionate communication. When those needs are met - whether by a nurse who stays through a storm, a caregiver who treats the patient with dignity, or a chaplain who remains present - the experience can be profoundly positive, providing families with relief and solace during a profoundly difficult time. When those needs are not met - missed calls, delayed visits, inconsistent schedules, and perceived evasiveness - the experience becomes a source of fear, anger, and mistrust, turning a profoundly intimate process into a battleground of logistics and expectations.

For anyone navigating hospice care, these accounts underscore the importance of proactive engagement: confirming exact visit times and who will be visiting, understanding the on-call process, and maintaining an open line of communication about scheduling and supply needs. They also highlight the value of documenting staff interactions, requesting continuity of caregivers when possible, and recognizing the difference between compassionate, patient-centered care and organizational shortcuts that may undermine it. In the end, Gentiva Hospice - like many providers in high-stakes care settings - appears to be capable of extraordinary kindness and professional excellence, even as it struggles with systemic pressures that can, at times, hinder timely, empathetic service.

Pharmacies

• Cardinal Health (0.2 miles)
• Dziurkowski, Nicholas - Nicholas Dziurkowski (0.8 miles)
• Walgreens (0.9 miles)
• Walgreens (0.9 miles)
• Parkwest Pharmacy (0.9 miles)
• Bowman Curve I (0.9 miles)
• Drug Emporium (0.9 miles)

Restaurants

• Aji Ramen Bar (0.2 miles)
• Khalil's Pub & Grill (0.2 miles)
• Twin Peaks (0.3 miles)
• McDonald's (0.7 miles)
• Purple Cow (0.8 miles)
• On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina (0.9 miles)
• David's Burgers (0.9 miles)

Physicians

• Chenal Family Practice (0.6 miles)
• Arkansas Heart PA (0.7 miles)
• Uams West Little Rock Clinic (0.7 miles)
• Doctor's Park (0.7 miles)
• Dermatology Group Of Arkansas (0.7 miles)
• Little Rock Gynecology and Obstetrics (0.8 miles)
• Arkansas Cardiology (0.8 miles)

Cafes

• Panera Bread (0.7 miles)
• Starbucks (2.9 miles)
• Starbucks (3.4 miles)

Hospitals

• Hickingbotham Outpatient Center (0.9 miles)
• CHI St Vincent Infirmary (2.9 miles)

Parks

• Hounds Lounge Pet Reso (1.2 miles)
• Woodlands Edge Park (2.2 miles)
• Two Rivers Park (3.2 miles)

Places of Worship

• Church At Rock Creek (2.1 miles)
• Second Presbyterian Church (2.3 miles)
• Covenant Presbyterian Church (2.6 miles)

Theaters

• Cinemark Colonel Glenn 18 And Xd (3.2 miles)