Carle Hospice

Pros

• The care team has been helpful and kind, providing attentive weekly support.
• They visit without rushing and treat the patient with dignity, answering all questions.
• A family member who is a nurse practitioner could start IV antibiotics, showing practical, accessible care.
• The home healthcare providers are appreciated for their compassionate and respectful approach.

Cons

• The PT lady wandered through the house instead of staying in place, showing disrespect and intrusiveness.
• The PT lady is described as gross and disrespectful for placing a bag she uses in other people's homes on the bed, implying contamination.
• The reviewer was angered by the perceived disrespect and ended up re-washing bedding, even burning the comforter.
• The reviewer would give zero stars if possible.
• A relative waited 24 hours for IV antibiotics with no one showing up, highlighting unreliability.
• The agency is criticized as a joke by the reviewer.
• Carle Hospice reportedly rejected care without a home visit or callback, causing suffering.
• The reviewer believes Carle prioritizes money over care and calls the hospital a fake non-profit.
• They discourage others from using Carle and suggest seeking other care options.

Review

The collection of experiences shared paints a layered picture of care that runs from surprisingly compassionate to deeply frustrating, all centered on home health visits and hospice services in central Illinois. The author begins with a vivid, personal frustration about a physical therapy (PT) aide who "wondered through my house" rather than staying put in the areas where she was needed. The writer makes it clear that she would have the aide escorted out if such wandering happened again. The husband, who recently had a hip replacement, is described as being up and moving around at home, with bedding and top blankets washed prior to his return from the hospital. Yet the intrusion of the PT in private spaces - especially the bedroom - felt invasive and disrespectful. The aide carried a bag that she uses in multiple homes, a detail that unsettled the writer enough to place the bag in their own bedroom on top of their bed. The emotional impact was significant: the author saw this as a breach of dignity and privacy, and the incident triggered a strong reaction.

In the aftermath of that encounter, the author takes a drastic step that underscores the intensity of the concern about contamination and safety: instead of returning to a laundromat to re-wash the bedding, they took the comforter outside and burned it. This act, described in plain terms, reveals a high level of fear about what could have been carried into the home and bed. The author's tone blends frustration with a sense of protectiveness for their household and their recovering husband. The blanket and bedding had already been cleaned once, and the decision to burn the item signals a personal boundary around what they deem acceptable risk when someone from the care team handles their personal space and belongings.

The narrative then shifts to a contrasting strand of care that has felt genuinely supportive. The author notes a PICC line home-care setup, with weekly visits that have consistently been "helpful and kind." The caregivers in this part of the story are described as well-mannered, unhurried, and respectful, treating the author as a person who deserves answers to questions. This positive experience with the PICC-line team stands in stark relief to the earlier PT encounter, illustrating that not all Home Health professionals behave the same way, and that quality of care can vary significantly from provider to provider.

Another thread of the account expresses acute frustration with another facet of the home-care system. The author describes their uncle's situation: "Uncle has been home 24 hours waiting on an IV SOC. Nobody showed." In a tense turn, a family NP managed to start IV antibiotics, but the delay left the writer hoping for change in agency performance. The sentiment is blunt: "Hopefully he changes agency," followed by the disparaging remark, "Carle is a joke." This reflects a broader dissatisfaction with timely, reliable service and the perceived variability in responsiveness among different agencies.

A particularly devastating portion of the account concerns the author's father, who was dying from Parkinson's disease with dementia and stroke damage. The father had chosen to spend his last days at home rather than enter a hospital, and Carle Hospice had been recommended by his primary care physician. However, after a day of waiting, the family learned that there would be no home visit and no courtesy callback - a stark disappointment in a moment when compassionate, timely hospice support mattered most. The author suggests a troubling motive: the possibility that the decision was influenced by a costly "stroke protocol review" priced at $30,000. The writer states clearly that they hold no malice toward the doctor, but they perceive a system in central Illinois where financial concerns "money first, not care." The assertion about Carle's status in the community is pointedly harsh: "Carle Hospice" is labeled in their mind as part of a hospital that behaves more like a money-driven institution than a genuinely patient-centered one, with the added observation that the city of Champaign knows they are a "fake non profit hospital." The writer's conclusion is not only a critique of one hospice but a cautious warning to others in the area: there are other care options beyond Carle, and the reader should consider exploring them.

Throughout the narrative, the author weaves together gratitude for the parts of the care system that did well with stark disappointment in those that fell short. The positive experiences with the PICC-line team serve as a counterpoint to the troubling encounters with the PT aide and the delayed IV care for the uncle, culminating in the hospice rejection story. The overall tone is one of vigilant advocacy for a patient-centered approach - one that respects private space, provides prompt responses, and centers care on the patient's comfort and dignity rather than financial or bureaucratic considerations. The author's voice exhibits a mix of resilience and exasperation, recognizing the good intentions of some healthcare workers while condemning what they perceive as systemic flaws in another segment of the same broader care network.

In the end, the writer's message is one of caution and choice. They acknowledge that not all health professionals or agencies behave the same way, and they explicitly encourage others to seek out options that align with what they believe constitutes genuine, compassionate care. The piece acts as a warning about letting financial concerns overshadow personal care and respect, particularly in moments when a family member is vulnerable and dependent on the support of in-home services and hospice teams. By sharing both the moments of kindness and the episodes of disrespect and delay, the author offers a candid portrait of a care system that can be deeply inconsistent, urging readers to carefully assess their own experiences and to advocate for better, more humane care wherever they live.

This part of Champaign, Illinois, offers a convenient and diverse range of amenities for seniors looking to settle in the area. With multiple pharmacies nearby, accessing necessary medications and healthcare supplies is easy. There are also various dining options, from fast food to casual dining, ensuring a variety of choices for meals. In terms of healthcare, there are several physicians' offices and hospitals within a short distance. For leisure activities, residents can enjoy movies at the nearby theater or take a stroll in one of the nearby parks. Overall, this neighborhood provides essential services and recreational opportunities that cater to the needs and interests of seniors.

Pharmacies

• Carle Home Infusion (0 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (0.6 miles)
• Walgreens (0.7 miles)
• Walmart Pharmacy (0.9 miles)
• Meijer Pharmacy (0.9 miles)
• OSF Pharmacy (1.7 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (1.9 miles)

Restaurants

• McDonald's (0.2 miles)
• McAlister's Deli (0.4 miles)
• Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers (0.4 miles)
• Chinatown Buffet (0.5 miles)
• Steak 'n Shake (0.6 miles)
• Chipotle Mexican Grill (0.6 miles)
• Chili's Grill & Bar (0.7 miles)

Cafes

• Panera Bread (0.2 miles)
• Meijer Café (0.9 miles)
• Starbucks (1 miles)
• BrewLab Coffee (1.9 miles)
• Bakelab Urbana (2 miles)
• Kung Fu Tea (2 miles)
• Starbucks (2.3 miles)

Physicians

• Dr Heckmans Office (0.4 miles)
• Champaign Eye Professionals (0.4 miles)
• All About Eyes - Champaign (0.5 miles)
• Bard Optical - Champaign (0.8 miles)
• Case Audiology (0.9 miles)
• Illinois Bariatric Center (1.3 miles)
• Pulmonary Medicine (1.5 miles)

Theaters

• AMC Champaign 13 (1 miles)

Hospitals

• The Pavilion Foundation (1.4 miles)
• Presence Covenant Medical Center (1.6 miles)
• OSF Heart of Mary Medical Center (1.7 miles)
• Provena Covenant Medical Center (1.7 miles)
• ImpactLife (1.7 miles)
• McKinley Health Center (2.7 miles)

Transportation

• Amtrak (1.5 miles)

Places of Worship

• Holy Cross Catholic Church (1.5 miles)
• St Peter's United Church of Christ (2.4 miles)

Parks

• Mattis Park (2 miles)
• Hessel Park (2.5 miles)