direct support professional

registered nurse

site manager

coach

assistant manager

AHRC Nassau

I first want to say that I love the individuals I care for each day. They are like my children and I enjoy watching them learn new skills, and go about filling their days, their way!

Also, while my normal location is somewhere else, one of the main offices of AHRC is in Plainview - this is where my training is. I must say that most of the people there, are great. However, the woman in the front reception area is extremely rude. If you want to give off a good first impression to potential employees, you need to talk to this lady. Each time I go to Plainview, I am greeted by being yelled at and talked to like I am a criminal by the lady in the front desk. Human Resources should sit down with her and explain how to talk to people.

On a typical day at work, I clock in and help clean the room, make sure medications are in order, and plan out activities for the individuals. Then I help the individuals come into the hubsite, do activities with them, change them if I need to, and help with lunches. Afternoons are similar as mornings.

I've learned how to care for people medically, under the guidance of a Registered Nurse. I've learned about eating guidelines, behavior management, and outcome measures.

The management is ok. It depends on where you work. They can be very lazy and power-hungry.

The workplace culture is very depressing because people are not happy about working here. People do the least possible that they can get away with.

The hardest part of the job is dealing with different personalities of the house management, and the management at the hubsites. Also, the behaviors of the individuals because the Behaviorists that the agency has are useless and of no help.

The most enjoyable part of the job is watching the individuals try new things, smile, laugh, and have a good time! I also enjoy my coworkers at this time, who have become my friends. It doesn't always happen because depending on your work location, you can get stuck with terrible co-workers. 

My typical work day is only 8 hours, which means with all the responsibilities that I have as a dsp, are a bit too much for the small window of time that I have to get everything done between drop offs, appointments and pick ups and then doing my work at the house for not 6 individuals, but 10 individuals! The communication between staff and management really needs to improve as this can cause staff to either call out out of work, especially if you have subs on the schedule and they either come in for 
a few hours, but then leave without finishing their whole shift, they won’t show up to work the next time they’re scheduled and this makes us very short staffed with a lot of individuals in the house, covering people is okay but doing it all the time because
They don’t want to come in gets in the way of your plans outside of work and it’s tiring. You would believe that people would stay working for these houses or the agency, but some would transfer to a new house or even quit because it’s unprofessional and uncomfortable, people are lazy because of the amount of responsibilities they have, the people they work with and very low pay. Overtime is great and all, but people have families at home and a LIFE! You can’t just pay someone dimes and pennies and expect them to come in and work their own shift as well as cover shifts for someone who doesn’t want to work! This agency can’t retain employees because of all of this and  I can’t stress this enough. I’m honestly thinking about quitting…

As someone who also has an developmentally disabled sibling the individuals tend to get the short end.  They are the only saving grace in an agency that takes advantage of them, the fed govt, and its employees.  Highest turnaround ever which makes more work for dedicated staff (but they refuse to pay overtime)!  

DSPs suffer from the highest rate of burnout, I have seen them suffering from injuries because of this place, obesity, since you do not have time to eat as there is no lunch break, and emotional/power abuse from management. People tend to stay for the benefits, but since I have been here, I have seen the high turnaround, benefits be damned.

You do a lot of work for below minimum wage. You can lose your rights, license, and more if accused of things by individuals, but you will never be believed unless witnesses are around (every man for himself attitude, so good luck with that).   

Long Island is expensive and many employees have 2-3 additional jobs.  Only the higher-ups get perks and majority of the profit.  

All of the agencies are desperate for people right now, but with the government cuts,  there will be no relief soon.  So more over-worked staff.  

If you want to start in the social services, this is a good way as you move forward toward a career, but do not expect to move up in this agency.  Go to school and get a good job!

First I'm not here to bash, only to be honest. As far as managers and staff you could not ask for nicer people. The issues with this company is, Managers are just DSPs with a title there never is enough staff so the managers are doing transportation, outings, and watching the clients and still expected to get all this paperwork done. There is no appreciation for staff, The company really needs to do more for staff since we only get appreciated during DSP week, (Other agencies do way more) Monthlies only managers do them, why? They would get done in a timely manner if EVERYONE were to do them, split them amongst all staff, the coaches are with the clients daily they have a first hand insight on how the goals are being achieved, but the managers do like 12-15 each how is that possible, when do they expect us to get it done? The turnover rate will always be
high because the pay is an insult especially when everyone praises about you should love just making a difference, we do or we wouldn't be here, but the cost of living is continuing to rise. DSP should be 
making at least $12.75-13.75 an hour, Assistant s should start at $14.00 to $15.50 at least.  Other agencies pay way more.

Working with the developmental disability population is a rewarding and learning experience, both professionally and personally.  I currently oversee the medical care of 4 residential group homes for a total of 28 residents.  My day typically begins with interaction with the residents prior to them leaving for day program.  Report is received for the support staff.  Throughout the day there is constant communication between the support staff, managers, assistant managers and day program nurses to any health changes, medication ordering by physicians or concerns.  All medications ordered are verified by myself prior to sending to the pharmacy.  Ongoing education to support staff and residents occurs daily.  Physician visits are reviewed daily for health changes, concerns and testing ordered.  Lab work is scheduled and reviewed by myself daily and physician alerted for any concerns.  Through ongoing support of staff, we have developed a professional and respectful working relationship.  The hardest part of my position would be losing a resident to illness of disease.  You can't help but become close with the residents and quickly develop a strong, caring relationship with them.  The most enjoyable part of my position are the hugs, smiles and positive attitudes of the residents I support.

When I started everyone was very nice and helpful to an extent. After a few WEEKS on the job I noticed that management will say they want thing done a specific way just for you to do it that way and then there’s a problem with the way you did it… She would refer to us as kindergartners while we were all adult women. You can talk to upper management about your problems but nothing will be resolved at all. Overall the company just doesn’t care about much and that was a complete shock to me given the optimism at the interview to get the job. This company has a lot of space to improve, but they only care about money from the state. The manager will also talk about you to her favorite longtime employee at the site… very unprofessional. I also had 2 years of experience in this field and multiple certifications but I still made minimum wage. I worked for Farmingdale 2 Hubsite, I’ve heard that Farmingdale 1 is a lot better. 

a typical day working at AHRC Nassau is that you have to pick up the individuals from their day program. Then you would bring them home you will have to help them shower, help them with their laundry. Staff would have to cook and prepare dinner for the individuals. Staff will have to give the individuals their medication and do vital signs on the individuals. Staff would have to take the individuals out in the community. Since I been working at AHRC Nassau for four years plus, I have learned a lot different medications by being trained by RN's. I learned how to deal with the individuals different personally due to the fact that they all have diagnoses with disorders. they co worker that I work with every day get along with each other . we take teamwork really serious due to the fact that the only way things are going to get done. The hardest part of the job is not knowing what mood the individuals are in and the most enjoyable part of the job is seeing the individuals smiling and you are able to do things with them, and you will have fun yourself.

As management you should have your day planned out from days  ago, so you generally look at the calendar to see the days activities/ responsibilities and get things completed. I learned how to manage many staff personalities without taking things personal and getting the desired outcome. My management was very nice, but when I made some suggestions based on experience, sometimes my words fell on death ears because nothing would come from those meetings.
The staff in general were down to earth, mostly women so too many on one jobsite for too long without a break from one another became interesting, nothing to be worried over. The hardest part of the job is making everyone happy, as management, you come to terms with it and prioritize job responsibilities according to what makes sense and deal with everything else after. The best part of the job was having free will to be creative at the art facility, no micromanagement.

What is the best part of working at the company?
It is A company with a lot of integrity. There is great concern for the employees and there is a lot of events celebrated within the organization. There is also a terrific training program and it is one of the few agencies we are the person supported is truly at the center of decision making

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
I would say the most stressful part working for this company is that there is quite a lot of work to do for each position

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The culture of this company is one of inclusion. We stress people first language and that the personal desires and dreams of each individual receiving services is considered the focal point of our work

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I have an eight hour day where the job that I do I work on special projects and I also do workshop training and interviewing

AHRC is an not agency for people who are looking for a living wage. Management is unstructured, work conditions are deplorable, pay is low, and no raises are given. Any and all complaints are either unheard, or seen to without any urgency by management. Hard work is punished by harsh scrutiny and unfairly increased workloads, and laziness is rewarded with minimal, or an absolute absence of disciplinary action. Corruption within upper management is not only rumored, but made evident by the acts of upper level directors. And any maintenance issues aren't seen to in a timely manner, or not at all. The entire facility is infested with pests and rodents such as roaches, fruit flies, and mice. All of which are completely ignored by the directors. I would not, in any way, advise working for this agency unless your sole interest in it is seeing to the well being of developmentally disabled people.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Direct support professional 1427 salaries reported	$18.66 per hour
Registered nurse 38 salaries reported	$82,395 per year
Site manager 49 salaries reported	$21.74 per hour
Coach 41 salaries reported	$19.24 per hour
Assistant manager 58 salaries reported	$20.31 per hour

Working at AHRC Nassau: Company Overview and Reviews

AHRC Nassau

AHRC Nassau Ratings

Popular jobs at AHRC Nassau

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected