medication aide

certified medication aide

registered nurse

nursing assistant

speech language pathologist

Ensign Services

IF you're contemplating cooking at Racine Commons, STOP! I was the 1st shift cook for Racine Commons plus I considered myself to be the kitchen manager as well because I did the weekly grocery ordering for  both buildings, kept inventory for both buildings while trying to stay in budget, yet all they could muster to put on my nametag was "Dietary Aide". 
    For starters you are the ONLY person in the kitchen for your 7.5 hour shift. You start at 6:30 and work until 2:30 with and unpaid 30 minute break. There is no dishwasher or prep cook just yourself. You cook the made to order breakfast items which mostly consist of eggs scrambled, fried or an omelet, toast, oatmeal or cold cereals, and every other day the bacon and sausage, then some days you can make pancakes, french toast or waffles. After breakfast is over you need to get your dishes done before the noon meal service plus get going on the lunch menu. A lot of the things you'll make have to be made from scratch but, you do have recipes to go by. So at noon you have to serve lunch, and then at 12:30 you'll punch out for your 30 minute lunch break. Then at 1 you'll punch back in and get ready to do your lunch dishes after the girls pick them up off of the tables for you (at least you get some help here).  Some time either while you're also making lunch you have to find the time to start your supper items, such as the casseroles or any desserts or baked goods that need to be on the menu that evening. Soups made from scratch were a big thing during the fall-winter menu cycle. There are no 2nd shift cooks in the building I was in because there weren't enough residents to justify having them, therefore the nursing staff has to complete and serve the evening meals. You are also responsible for keeping the food temp log and also the temps on the coolers and freezers. 
   Once a week on Tuesdays you will be responsible for placing the food orders for both buildings which means you need to know your inventory well. You also have to stay within your budget for the month, the PPD you have to work with for food is $4, for anything you need as far as kitchen supplies go you have a PPD of $.50.  So in other words you have a budget of $4 per day for each resident for all 3 meals of the day. That's not an easy budget to work with. I had to go out of my way to make lists for myself that were weekly by the menu with the appropriate item #'s and then check boxes for each building because as easy as it should be to have to order the same things for both buildings, sadly it's not that easy. IF you could get the other cooks to follow the menu to the letter then you would be able to stay in budget much easier, they just make what they feel like making instead so you always have things that you need to get for the order that you really shouldn't have had to if they'd follow the menu. Then also to save money and not use up all your space you're going to need to order cases that you'll split between both buildings, and that will be left up to you to make sure the delivery gets split out and you have to take the items over to the next building. Then sometimes items that don't get used up very fast, instead of ordering a whole case you'll be expected to go to the store and purchase one of each for the buildings. Plus you handle the ordering of some of the med supplies and housekeeping items. All of this for the going low price of $10/hour for someone like myself who had over 5 years experience in this type of setting already. And also you have to be in communication with the Activities directors for each building because if there's anything they need for their activities you are responsible for ordering or picking these things up for them as well. 
   As a whole, I would say the work atmosphere is very negative and laziness abounds here. People that never should've been hired stay and people that are genuinely hard working are taken advantage of and hounded. The E.D. has no idea what she's doing at all and she will play games with everybody. Ensign says that employees come first but, if that were so then they wouldn't be so severely understaffed. It's because of the lack of help that everybody is in a bad mood and it all trickles down from there. They take in residents whose cares are beyond what they should be doing at the RCAC and the CBRF is just a place for them to go and pass away because nobody in that building cares enough about the residents to make a difference for them.

A typical day at work: Each day feels like entering a cult-like environment where conformity is prized above all else. You're expected to parrot the words of your leader and suppress any original thoughts or ideas. The atmosphere is suffocating, with supervisors demanding blind obedience rather than encouraging independent thinking.

What you believe you learned: I've learned that toxic workplace cultures can poison even the most promising opportunities. Pennant Group claims to value individuality and self-policing, but in reality, it's a facade. The emphasis on conformity stifles creativity and innovation, leaving employees feeling trapped and disillusioned.

Management: Management at Pennant Group is a joke. Instead of fostering a supportive and empowering environment, they promote a culture of fear and favoritism. If you're willing to kiss up to your supervisor, you might get ahead, but heaven forbid you show any sign of independence or critical thinking.

Workplace culture: The culture at Pennant Group is best described as clickish and cult-like. They preach the importance of acting like a family, but it's all a facade to mask the toxic dynamics at play. Certain individuals, especially those from California, wield their power like petty tyrants, smiling to your face while stabbing you in the back.

The hardest part of the job: The hardest part of the job is navigating the treacherous waters of office politics and trying to maintain your sanity in a toxic environment. It's exhausting constantly having to watch your back and second-guessing every move for fear of reprisal from vindictive colleagues.

The most enjoyable part of the job: There is no enjoyable part of the job at Pennant Group. Every aspect of the work experience is tainted by the toxic culture and incompetent leadership. Any semblance of enjoyment is quickly overshadowed by the oppressive atmosphere and constant stress.

In summary, Pennant Group is a nightmare of a workplace. The illusion of camaraderie and self-policing quickly fades away to reveal a toxic cesspool of favoritism, backstabbing, and exploitation. Save yourself the misery and stay far away from this company.

The Ensign Group purchased all of the former Harmony Assisted Living facilities in Wisconsin last summer, then immediately cut staffing and reduced 8 hour shifts to 7.5 hours. Read about the MAJOR LAWSUIT against them and their $48 million dollar settlement for fraud and under-staffing.

http://www.nursinghomeabuseguide.org/resou…/the-ensign-group

Executive directors are forced to under-staff their facilities while being threatened with job loss if they don't fill the place, even if it means admitting and maintaining residents needing more care than the assisted living community is able to provide. Executive directors are worked to death with no department heads. Executive director is the receptionist, accounts payable, accounts receivable, sales and marketing, business office manager, human resources, maintenance, and also answers call lights and helps cook and serve meals. All this in a 60-plus hour week and constantly being threatened with termination if they don't keep the place full.

The CAPLICO core values are meaningless.  The "employees first" and "love and respect one another" core values upper management promoted was just talk, completely opposite of how they treated the employees under them.

Wake up Ensign.  Stop saying you are having a hard time finding quality employees in WI.  The executive directors and other workers in WI are not the problem.  Ensign is.  You do not know our state mandated regulations or the acuity of care in CBRFs.  You need to get out of Wisconsin and go back to California where assisted living is more like retirement living.

This place is run like a circus.  There is no breakdown of upper managment, it is the E.D and "supervisors" that don't even have the authority to write people up. The ED is a control freak who trusts nobody because she herself cannot be trusted. Ensign Services has a policy that states you can make anonymous reports if you think you will be retaliated against if you "tell" on someone right? The ED is the main person who uses retaliation techniques. She likes to promote fear of losing your job, treating people as if they're a child and speaking to them in that manner. There's absolutely no follow through when it comes to discipline because it's too hard to get good people to work here. She sticks up for and protects the bad workers and puts down and hounds the good workers. She doesn't know which is which obviously. They also have no interest in protecting their employees from dangerous work situations either. She's a very condescentding individual with no interest in her employees whatsoever, she and her co-hort (the marketing manager) are more interested in getting heads in the door no matter what cares they need so they get their numbers and keep them so as to get their heads patted and their bonus. They like to make people believe that they are there for you and that the customer is second and employees come first but, it's completely false. It's and out to get you you feel when you work here. You also have an 8 hour shift but, you have to punch out for a 30 minute break.

I was very excited to be a part of what I thought was a great team. Boy was I wrong. Ensign as a company appears to be very solid and has a great vision. The problem is the Kansas market. These people have no clue what they are doing. They preached CAPLICO from day 1, yet they themselves have no idea what it means. They say the culture of the company is the most important piece of Ensign, but it is more like a cult. There is no culture to their environment. The ED in Kansas is a snake and a liar. They pride themselves on sneaky blind sides, back stabbing, scheming, and being money hungry. They don't care about the resident we take care of. It is all about the mighty dollar. Everything encompasses money. This is healthcare!!! It is expensive. They offer NO support for staff when requested, yet they are quick to hand out disciplinary action. They huddle in offices and spend all day in meetings. This is why the Kansas market has no clue what they are doing. Get your butt on the floor where the action is happening and learn something. That is what makes you a good leader and successful! Just so I am being very transparent...if the EDs want to be good leaders, go get your CNA! Try doing the hard work for a change and then maybe your Kansas market will improve.  I would stay away from Ensign in the state of Kansas. Your employment will be short lived and miserable.

Ensign touts its "higher" mission (both on earth and in heaven, as it is a fiercely-Mormon company), but fails to meet the standards on both fronts.  There are a lot of extremely bombastic folks who work here, folks with little education from 3rd- and 4th-rate institutions who pontificate to anyone who will listen, but who impart incorrect information regarding policies, procedures, State rules and regulations, and resident care protocols.  The wage differential is staggering - although EDs and DONs will make well into the six-figures, CNAs will be paid as little as the market will allow, and will be worked to death to service and extremely angry and demanding patient base.  As an ED you will be routinely subjected to verbal and email abuse by your coworkers for what they perceive to be shortcomings, and you are expected to bow your head and take it like a good little child.  If you play the game, you can expect very lucrative financial rewards.  If you question the logic or validity of erroneous statements made by young, inexperienced folks, for many of whom this is their first "real" job after having been subsidized by their families until they were well into their 30's, you will be pushed out.  Interestingly enough, if you are not a Mormon you should be prepared to drink significant amounts of alcohol if you plan to be accepted by your non-LDS peers.

Ensign has a very bottom up culture that allows individual facilities and regions a lot of leeway in decision making. That local control can be awesome, but it can also be terribly flawed. It makes it hard to say that *Ensign* is good or bad, because the group of leaders that you are working with is really what determines the experience you will have. 

I will say that for me, the inconsistency was the hardest part of the role. Unless something was actually illegal, the facility administrator could pretty well make whatever decision they wanted, right up until they were terminated by their peers for it. If they were profitable/successful, then they had a lot of influence with other administrators. 

But as a regional (Resource, in Ensign vernacular) it was frustrating to have different buildings that I was supporting operating in dramatically different ways. It was also frustrating to not have any sense of security in my role. There was almost a feeling that being a regional, despite the added responsibilities, put you at a lower level than the facility staff instead of being a promotion. So I couldn't fire a poorly performing facility employee, but I could potentially be fired for their poor performance - while still being told that I should be coaching them and not doing it for them. All in all it is apparently good for the company, but awkward for individual cogs in the machine. 

I usually do not take the time to post a review like this but this was by far the worst job I have ever had, I am one of the hardest working people around and I was not appreciated even the slightest bit. As a dietary aide I was expected to do EVERYTHING not just the items that were in the job description. I was worked so many hours that I did not even have a social life anymore. Working 15-16 hours a day more than 2 times in a short period of time because they were so short staffed and everyone was continually quitting because of how horrible they were treated. I had complained multiple times to HR, the Executive director And the food service director and none of them were resolving any of the issues that were there so I had decided to leave. I would come home crying many days because of how terrible I was treated there even once crying in the Human Resources office asking for problems there to be resolved and how I was mistreated in the work place and I was told to “suck it up” and go back to work. What kind of place is this? It needs to be shut down and investigated thoroughly WITHOUT NOTICE from the state. The whole place is awful. I have already contacted Ensign services directly so hopefully they will step up and figure this out, if you decide to work there despite my warnings. Well, good luck.

I was a social services director for one of their skilled nursing facilities  in the San Diego region. They are completely deceptive in their intentions and lack forward communication. They expect their employees to perform at high quality standards despite unrealistic expectations. Social services is a tough job, nonetheless, but what did not help was the POLITICAL ball game that seems to puppeteer the decision making in my particular establishment. It is just a feeling you have, when you work there, that your job is not safe. Also, it seems as if everyone has this feeling as well and the culture is just stiff with fear. When you confront administration with clear and present department issues (lack of resources, overworked staff, impossible deadlines, lack of support) they act incredulous and gaslight you for not performing to the standard. I ended up taking the roll of two departments, which I felt rushed into and, quite honestly, forced into to "justify my salary" (still lower than most SSDs). This was all to promote another department head promptly. Just beware of the wolf in sheep's clothing and prepare before an interview if you find yourself giving into their shiny fruit.

my time with this company started out great but the longer I was there, the more I realized how flawed and unprofessional they are. There are too many "higher ups" and not enough "workers". When I would go to the DON or ADMIN with a question, neither would know the answer and say they would have to converse with one another. Getting an answer back would literally take 2-3 business days. All the while, they had nice luncheons or caught many times laughing about on their phones. When approached for an answer I would get the usual, "we have been busy one of us will find you by the end of the day".... 3 days later! Favortism is a huge issue within this building as well. Other departments are allowed to over step and tell other departments what or how they should be doing their job, ex: a housekeeper telling a cna or nurse how she would treat a patient/ask if they are they sure this person needs pain meds because she doesn't think so etc. The list could honestly go on for DAYS but I think I have made my point. I do believe some intentions are good but at the end of the day, everyone on staff is more concerned with the money aspect than patient care.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Medication aide 35 salaries reported	$35,397 per year
Certified medication aide 28 salaries reported	$35,397 per year
Registered nurse 3 salaries reported	$49.67 per hour
Nursing assistant 6 salaries reported	$21.25 per hour
Speech language pathologist 10 salaries reported	$50.40 per hour

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