registered nurse

payroll administrator

manager of volunteer services

licensed practical nurse

volunteer coordinator

Avow-Hospice

I was excited to begin my position with Avow. The pay was decent, benefits were fair and I was committed to working with patients.You were made to feel special in orientation - like you were one of the select chosen few who were "called" to this field. However, after being with the organization a short time, I began to see emails on a daily basis regarding staff turnover. At first I was curious why this was the case but I quickly learned why. 

Management was verbally and emotionally abusive to staff often belittling them in front of other coworkers. They were passive aggressive and condescending in all email and phone conversations and in one on one meetings they would often roll their eyes at you, laugh at your questions, and generally make you feel stupid. I went home crying more days than not. When I contacted HR for assistance, I was sent back to my emotionally and verbally abusive manager. After speaking with her about my concerns, things only got worse. 

Things were so bad that I eventually sought outside help through the employee assistance program and ultimately my family doctor after I developed anxiety and began having panic attacks. The best part of my job were the patients and families. The patients were wonderful and I found that part of the job so rewarding however it was overshadowed by the horrible management conditions. Often times it was difficult to focus on patient care though because I was getting calls from my manager throughout my patient visits with questions regarding where I was at. 

It was often frustrating that the agency hired clinical managers with less experience than their front line staff. When you would turn to a manager for assistance, you were often quoted an agency policy or procedure number when the question was actually a clinically related matter and nothing to do with agency policy. Managers were often inept in their ability to supervise their staff due to lack of their own experience so they would rely on agency policy and procedure versus providing you with their own clinical knowledge and experience. When they went on home visits with you, all feedback was focused on policies and procedures and not the care you provided to patients.


One of the more disturbing details of my time as an employee was encountering their policies and procedures regarding the reporting of abuse and neglect of patients. The agency has their own policies and procedures that employees must follow before they are "allowed" to make a call to the state regarding the suspected abuse or neglect of a patient. Nurses and Social Workers are mandated reporters and by federal law are required to report ANY and ALL suspected abuse or neglect of a child or disabled adult. However, as an employee you are told that you must have permission to report suspected abuse or neglect of a patient but to do so you must have permission from several tiers of management in order to preserve relationships with families and agencies. In other words, even though they are a non profit - they still need referrals from nursing facilities for money. These practices are questionable and unethical let alone morally wrong.

The ironic part of the whole situation is that the majority of managers are Licensed Clinical Social Workers and Nurses both of which should be two of the most compassionate professions. 

Unless you are applying for a management position then I would keep searching. This job is NOT worth risking your mental health. I have never felt such a sense of relief as the day I walked out their door. I will never go back.

    If you are a Registered Nurse, please don’t work for this organization. They are unprofessional and rude, and they will bully you if you make a small mistake. I worked as a case manager and it was a nightmare, I was having health issues from the treatment I received. They told me I was going to be doing facilities and they would send me to houses in the middle of nowhere alone with fresh men living in there and really bad conditions with smoke and cigar smell, to bad areas in Immokalee city, it’s not safe!! They lied about you making your own schedule, you have to go see the patients when they want you to see them and at the time they want you to see them or they will harass you. I finally got tired of the treatment I gave them a resignation letter of 30 days’ notice as a courtesy even though this is not mandatory in the state of FL. I couldn’t make it to work on a Monday and a Tuesday due to car issues and I notified them on Saturday.  I was not going to get on I-75 and drive around all day to the places they send you with a broken car.  I had requested the week before for PTO for Wednesday and I received an email saying it was approved, then on that Wednesday I was supposed to be on PTO I received an email from Human Resources at 10:00 am saying that since I didn’t go to work on Monday and Tuesday (due to the car problems) and I didn’t answer the phone on Wednesday ( requested PTO) they considered my immediate resignation. I spoke to the Human Resources lady and explained I was supposed to be on PTO, that is the reason I didn’t answer my work phone plus I never received an email or phone call to my personal phone. She said that it’s not her problem that my car broke down and that they don’t give PTO to people that gave a resignation (even though I had 24 hours accumulated for PTO), and to go return everything by Friday. 
No wonder they don’t give the sign-in bonus after the 6 months and they have orientation every week. No one wants to work for them! As a Registered nurse for over 7 years, I have never had such a bad experience with an employer before. It’s not worth it, please don’t do it, you can find a place where they test you like a human being and with respect. 



Management is the worst of them all, please just run far away from this place as you can. If you do happen to take their offer you will be working in the twilight zone. At first everyone will be so nice to you wanting to know all your business, even your personal life stories so they can find your weakness and go after you once you are no longer needed . They will take you out to dinner, pay for your meals and introduce you as a new team member in so call their staff meeting that they have once a month. And you will hear stories about how great Avow is and how long they have been working there, some of the managers have been working for that place for 10 to 20 years plus. The reason why is because they have little skills set and are afraid of going anywhere else, now if you are the newcomer to the team, those same old managers will get ride of you in a blink of an eye. And when you start feeling the pain from their aggressiveness don't even bother going to HR because HR is the main reason why you will be getting a written up letter.Avow is one of the saddest place i ever worked at, I have never seen a company where people are so afraid of change that they will do everything in their power to run away from change. If you are someone who wants a company that appreciate your talents and is not afraid of a competition than Avow is not the place for you to grow. They never accept an outsider of their own unless you are willing to become one of them and trust me you really don't want to become the type of people that works for Avow.

A typical day involved providing comfort care to many different types of terminally ill patients. The medical management depended on the nursing judgments when determining the care plans involved. This encouraged learning daily more aspects of the care experience and kept up evolving skill practices.

this hospice facility enabled me to draw on my nursing skills and apply them to a career I haven't been in- care of the terminally ill.  It takes a great deal of patience, dealing not only with patients and families, but coworkers due to stress load. 

Management expected good job performance but didn't reciprocate and offer job enhancement, and wasn't flexible to listen to all employee opinions to make the job more productive.

The job structure encouraged/required employees to interact to produce a quality care experience. Each coworker was able to integrate experience with one another to provide care.

The hardest part of the job was case load, but was eased by employees working together to achieve the care potential expected of them.

The most fulfilling part of the job was the personal recognition received from the patients and families in making their life to death transition easier.

This place is run by unprofessional managers who at one point used to be nurses. How this company deems fit to make a nurse a manager is questionable since they have no training to do this. Case load is very high and they are never satisfied. Fast employee turnover happens fot a reason. They keep hiring and firing just before  any company benefits are granted. Office scene is chaotic with everyone making phone calls and trying to  get the heck out of there early in the morning. Emails are incessant and they expect you to answer and address them way after your work shift is over. Poor training on the phone device where you document.  Manager not familiar with anything on the device  so she always sent me to ask someone else.Nobody really reads the documentation. All they are concerned with are the numbers and how much they can bill medicare and insurances. Encouraged to falsify documentation with respect to how mush time you spend with a client. Place is a sham with horrible managers. Stay away from this place if you want a life after work.

I am proud to work at Avow where our caring and compassionate clinical teams provide exceptional care to critically ill patients and their families.  As a marketing professional I am extremely confident that the services I am promoting are being delivered in an ethical and compliant manner with the best interest of the patient always in mind.  The last year has been fast paced with the entry of a new CEO and CFO that have been instruments of much change for the organization.  This has included a culture shift and many operational changes that are generally for the better.  Unfortunately morale has been challenged as some employees resist change vehemently.  The organization would greatly benefit from additional communication from the top down, it seems things happen fast inevitably leaving some folks in the dark.

I am addressing Avow as a travel nurse, so am unable to address all aspects of this company. I worked there a little longer than my 13 week contract. However, to this day, I would highly recommend Avow to any medical nurse or otherwise whom loves Hospice work!  I have nothing but praise for Avow, and it's staff.  They were warm, professional, courteous,  and very helpful to me during my time there. I loved the patients and families I cared for. I speak highly of Avow anytime I can, and would encourage anyone whom desires to work in a pleasant, friendly, professional atmosphere to seriously consider them. IThe only reason I left was because my family lives on the other side of the state, and I decided I wanted to have my own home again, and be closer to my loved ones. If I weren't so far away, I would definitely work for Avow again!  The area is beautiful as well.  A wonderful experience!

When people are looking for a job, they should really tally up the savings they get from great employer benefits.  At Avow, medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance are free.  Additionally, we get free lunch every day we work.  When you add up these cost savings, they equate to approximately $2 more per hour than what your base pay is.  Plus, there are numerous other benefits throughout the year, such as food trucks on campus, free education and more.  The education is a real bonus!  If you have a clinical role, there is a nursing scholarship fund that will pay for some or all of your tuition to further your education.  Plus, you can also get free CEs credits you license may require. If you are not clinical, there is a tuition reimbursement program that reimburses up to the IRS maximum allowed at $5,250 per year.  Another great benefit is the paid time off.  You can accrue 27 days off in your first year at Avow.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I could complete my work in an 8 hour day, they were very supportive and if I had lived there I would work for them going full time. Very organized and fair. Treated the nurses respectfully. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Honestly I look back and don’t remember stress being an issue at that time 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Worked from home. Did not have to go to the office daily and communication was great. They provided the uniforms as well.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
They have a special admissions team so I would see 4-6 patients a day and could complete the visit without rushing between patients. This was working home care hospice. They have a team of schedulers who were very good at their jobs and kept you in a workable area that was easy driving access from within the day of the scheduled patients.

The agency mission, vision, and values are truly at the heart of every program, policy, and initiative. From the volunteer Board of Directors to the Senior Management Team to the front line staff delivering direct patient care and services, all staff deliver moral and ethical care to the community.  Responsible business practice means there is a healthy level of attention to the bottom line and budget necessities while patients and families receive the best of care always no matter the cost. Compassion and generosity abound as the team works together to achieve beautiful final journeys for terminally ill patients and a supportive grieving process for friends and family left behind.  Work is not easy, days are long and challenging, but I always feel valued, rewarded and fulfilled.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Registered nurse 4 salaries reported	$33.22 per hour
Payroll administrator 3 salaries reported	$60,000 per year
Manager of volunteer services 2 salaries reported	$62,000 per year
Licensed practical nurse 2 salaries reported	$24.63 per hour
Volunteer coordinator 1 salary reported	$21.00 per hour

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