nursing assistant

home health aide

registered nurse case manager

registered nurse

chaplain

Caring Hospice Services

The Director hired us knowing full well we had no experience in hospice nursing whatsoever but yet by my second patient I was supposed to be flawless in my documentation or else suffer severe criticism. And even though I was PRN I was supposed to jump when they say jump or else I was met with disapproval when I cannot be there on the hour by the hour. She did not have to say the wrods, just by the icy tone in her voice was enough to paralyze me because I am a people pleaser by nature. Every mistake I made I was met with such derisive criticism it came to a point where I was simply frozen with fear each time I see Caring Hospice's number on my phone much less approach the Director with questions as I was told to do. There was one case where I totally felt uncomfortable with their philosophy because they chose the prospect of possible client referral over the wishes of the patient that it left me totally disillusioned. No matter how hard I tried to please the Director there was no winning her over. If I did something good there was no encouragement. I truly tried so hard to do everything well and as perfectly as I could manage but criticism seem to the be the theme. If I tried to do something to facilitate patient care I was told not to do the job of the social worker, and if I left it to the social worker I was told I should have done a little more to take on the roll of the social worker. It even came to a point where I simply dreaded going to the office because I felt like a worthless piece of garbage and I was totally afraid to rely on my own judgement anymore and began to question myself and my own abilities because everything I did seemed to be wrong. God forbid if the client should complain even if they were being unreasonable. And the support was next to none. When I first was hired, they did not even have an office and I had no problems with that but just to show you where I am coming from in terms of support. Then when we needed to send off a urine culture we had to figure out how to go about doing that because it never occurred to them that that may be necessary when they got the office up and running. Sometimes it felt like we were always scrambling for solutions. And to top that, I was totally without hospice experience but expected to perform as a top notch hospice nurse by my second patient. Point blank I do not feel the support at all except for the healthy, overflowing dose of constant criticism that seemed to follow me. Finally, the day I resigned was the happiest day of my life in a long time. Suddenly, I felt so free knowing I will not be met with severe criticism no matter how hard I tried to please the management. I found a full time job with a company that put me through a wonderful 3 weeks orientation program and telling me where I made my mistakes but always telling me that I did an excellent job and that mistakes are ok because everything is a learning process. Suddenly, I do not feel like a worthless bag of trash and my sense of worth and my confidence started to return and it feels good to be able to spread my wings and fly again. Time to deal with the PTSD from having to work with the Director in the OH branch. I truly hope no one has to go through what I did because good management style does not need to involve tearing the employee's sense of self worth to shreds. It was truly a horrible nightmare that I will not forget in a hurry and which made me appreciate my present employer so much more. If I was such a horrible nurse then why does this new employer of mine appreciate my contributions to their company? The fact that they are always encouraging me made me want to do even better.

There was a case that needed to be opened that was in a bad neighborhood and the Director when first telling me about the case before she made the appointment for the meeting at first told me she would not send me into this neighborhood too late for my own safety and this was winter time when 5.15pm was already dark. Going into East side of Cleveland is difficult if you do not know the neighborhood well as most of the streets are not marked and there are no street lights so looking for a home in the dark, in a bad neighborhood, that is not well marked is just not a good idea all around.
The Director then called the family and made the appointment for me for 6pm. After she gave me the details I google mapped it and thought it was not safe for me and impossible to look for the home in the dark so I called the family and asked her if it was ok for me to make a little earlier for 5 pm and the family did not mind it at all since there will be other family members with the patient and he will not be alone when I come. The family said she will be by later at 5.30p as she gets off work at 5 pm.
During the visit, I was told by the patient that this family member couldn't make it after all because someone hit her car on her way there from work.
The next day however I got a tongue lashing from the Director who got mad at me for changing the appointment for 5 pm.She said that when she makes an appointment I am supposed to keep to it whether I like it or not and not change it. Also she point blank told me that it was my fault that the family member got into the accident. If I had not change the appointment she would not have gotten into an accident. What kind of person would say that? Definitely not someone I would want to work with. I knew then that this Director is not the supportive kind. Very disappointed with this Director. This company has the bare minimum it take to run a company and not an iota more. Company is from PA. Getting patient quota to go up is the main drive for this place. They only have 2 PRN nurses and one PRN social worker that works only two days a week. One PRN aide and one PRN chaplain who doubles up as the office worker when the Director is not around. The Director who is the only full time staff also has to run the office, the patient coordinator, just about whatever it takes to keep the office running and when she gets overwhelmed she gets the chaplain or the one nurse to help her with the running of the office like ordering stuff etc. And if you should get more than one referral in a day and one of the PRN nurses cannot make it, the Director has to open one of the cases. If one of the patients is actively dying it is usually hard to get to the dying patient in a timely manner and for extended hours with the patient because the two nurses already have their own patient load or sometimes cannot respond within the hour. Then they have to rely on the aide to take care of the patient for the extended hours and if the patient's family gets upset about not getting the nurse for extended hours since everyone is working PRN, the Director blames the nurse for the patient dissatisfaction because the nurse cannot get there within the hour each and everytime the need arises and yet she is PRN but expected to work like a full time. The Director of this company is not a very approachable person as she is usually very critical if you make mistakes.

I came to Caring Hospice as a RN/case manager with no hospice experience.  I received very little training during my time with the company, as little as two weeks.  I spoke to my managers multiple times about my lack of training and my lack of confidence in my job, and I was told it would take “six months to a year” to feel comfortable with my job.  Our management switched hands multiple times during my time at the company and new managers were often critical of how things were handled even though that was how I was trained to do things.  I never felt supported by management at my location or from the owners in my role as a nurse.  I often had to take work home.  The environment at the office was something I would describe as high school, there were often very bad arguments that occurred there.  The positive things of working there is the company is oriented towards patients and their families which was always nice to see and compensation was very fair  Benefits were decent  I would not recommend this company to a nurse without experience.

Only real drawback for my per diem position is lack of computerization! It is all word-of-mouth, paper reports, and extensive emailing of staff to get information on a team/ for a patient due for 60-day Recertification. I have a GREAT, well-experienced clinical manager in Lancaster and she always comes through. Fortunately the  turnover of RNs has been light, so inter-disciplinary communication has generally improved in the 4 years with Lancaster, PA (since I retired from an office role). New inexperienced nurses seem overwhelmed by the paperwork if no prior experience.  The local management team has become stabilized for the moment, however 3 local directors in 4 years has been challenging. The pay is good, with no benefits which I do not need as a former retiree just looking for VERY flexible and meaningful work. The driving can be tedious if one is the only NP, hope they find another to cover the vast territory. A nice extra income and very good team of ALL disciplines from greeters/ volunteers to CNAs to local director.

I've never worked in such a backstabbing, toxic, negative, harassing environment. Management wants no creativity, no input, no opinions, no questions, no suggestions as a professional, nothing except do what you are told, as if you were in the army--even at team meetings. This especially applies if you are not a nurse or doctor. You are basically told to keep your reports to a few words while nurses talk for 15 minutes. You will be patronized and spoken to as if you are a four year old. Mistakes, even if they were dealt with months or years ago, will be brought all over again at each performance review and you will never hear an appreciative word for anything good you do. Yet the "mistakes" you are reprimanded for are never given with any detail whatsoever and are so vague that you don't have a chance to improve. Staff is encouraged to rat each other out to management for any problem or disagreement instead of speaking directly to each other as professionals.

I  begin my day by reviewing the patients I will see.  I then go to the office and turn in my time sheets and patient notes.  I then see my patients and assess their comfort level and needs.  I have learned to effectively manage my work time as well as my home life.  We  have had a large turnover in management in the three years that I have worked here.  The workplace culture changed with the management.  The hardest part of the job was adjusting to the different management styles.  The most enjoyable part of the job is interacting with the patients, families and team members.  Providing excellent hospice care to people at the most difficult time of their lives is very rewarding to me.

Love the atmosphere and the team spirit. Everyone is friendly and would recommend this employer to anyone. From walking in the front door there is a welcoming atmosphere and everyone helps each other taking patient care very serious. Its like a extended family. the management will make sure that each one has a number of patients each day that is not overwhelming I have had 6 patients or less each day. with minimal travel they try to keep me in the area closest for me to my home if possible. the company pays mileage and tolls for patient care, documentation is not difficult if you are a strong nurse and able to make decisions and take control of your self in prioritizing care.

I worked for this company about a year and a half, and while the direct team of social workers, aides, chaplains and office staff were warm, friendly and helpful, the CEO and his corporate office were very difficult to work with. Most employees obtain their own health insurance due to the poor insurance options and no one gets more than 1.5% raises per year. It’s a fight to ask for more than that, even though most of the case managers have caseloads well beyond what is best for patient care and the health/well-being of the staff. Everything is handled in a reactive manner instead of a proactive approach which ultimately impacts care of hospice patients and their families. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The pay is higher than most hospice jobs around the area

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The director and owner are unbearable, and there is no real training system in place. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Hostile and micromanaged work environment, no real company culture is present. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Managing field staff, conducting employee training and emar audits.

What is the best part of working at the company?
This is an amazing company! Patients always come first and I’ve never worked with better people!!

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Case management is difficult no matter the employer, but management is supportive and help is always available.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Everyone has a team mentality and work together. It’s an accepting and supportive environment.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Always busy but fulfilling and lots of job satisfaction.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Nursing assistant 57 salaries reported	$21.25 per hour
Home health aide 25 salaries reported	$18.78 per hour
Registered nurse case manager 24 salaries reported	$48.50 per hour
Registered nurse 37 salaries reported	$33.91 per hour
Chaplain 16 salaries reported	$32.50 per hour

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