Pros
Get to work with patients and families to offer them help, encouragement and support at the end of their lives. Great coworkers and team worker within the department.
Cons
With the onset of Obamacare, the corporation no longer feels that they have to supply employees with any benefits. Benefits have been decreasing year after year. Employees used to have at least 3 options for their health insurance and one of those was a HMO for those who could not afford to be paying out large sums for deductibles and out of pocket expenses. Slowly over the course of several years, they only offer one option for health insurance and it is a high deductible plan that requires a HSA. Initially, the deductible was 1250 dollars for a single person and over the course of three years, that has doubled with the deductible for a single employee of 2500 dollars. Families have to pay a 5000 dollar deductible before anything is covered. In my case, I can't afford that. The only way that I would even pay all the deductible in a calendar year is if something catastrophic happened. That isn't health insurance to me. I end up paying for everything out of my pocket. What about the employees that are making 11 dollar an hour? Management doesn't care. As long as it doesn't cut into their bonuses. As long as the corporation, board of directors and CEO are making money. Have you seen what the CEO is making? Really. Now, this year, in addition to the increase in the deductible, long-term employees who have been with the company longer than 6 years are losing 40 hours of Paid time off. A weeks worth of vacation taken away. They always stated that our PTO wad for our mental health as we deal with death and dying day after day. They decided that we don't need, deserve or earn the time off that we have been getting for years. "Getting us back in line with the industry standard", they say. Just another way to make the employee pay and save them money for more profit for their bonuses. They will tell you that it is because Medicare reimbursement has decreased but have you looked at the bottom line? Their profit margin is amazing. It is profitable to be in the dying business . But, instead of the company making a little bit less this year, the employees take the brunt of the costs. Wages were frozen for years and now, managers can't even give 2% raise without a written explanation. The company doesn't allow for lunch breaks or breaks of any kind for field staff. They require that you enter a lunch hour into your payroll report daily even if couldn't take one. Management says it is mandatory but won't give you the time to take it. There is so much work that it can't possibly be completed in an 8 hour day and that's without taking a break. This company doesn't even pay IRS standard for mileage. 45 cents per mile but they have no problem having an admissions Nurse drive 50 to 100 billable miles in one day. No job in this company can do all that is required because they keep staffing cut to the bone and are looking at productivity every minute of every day. It is the employee that stays and works 10+ hours a day to get it all done when they are a salaried person. Only management and office staff go home on time. And management uses negativity to intimidate the employees. You are rarely recognized about the extreme dedication that you give but make one mistake and you will never hear the end of it. Behind your back, people will be discussing you and the mistake. Departments don't work together. Every Department tries to place the blame on another department or shove responsibility for an issue to someone other than their department. It's always someone else's fault. And they are quick to point out mistakes. Each department is under such scrutiny. It is no longer about the patient, it is about the money. No charity unless the patient is actively dying. We no longer care about each other or that patients and families come first, it comes down to profit and loss. If it costs to much money to provide a medication or treatment, we will not do it. This company was so different 5 to 10 years ago. It was a caring environment providing a high quality of care. Now, again, it's all about profit.