therapist

mental health technician

program assistant

licensed practical nurse

senior care manager

Hamilton Center, Inc.

There is an absolute obsession with "productivity" and the program managers overseeing providers often do not have a clinical background, so they have no understanding of the necessity of breathing room.  A new client enters your office every 45 minutes.  They hold providers responsible for keeping their schedules as full as possible, despite the fact that therapists do not make their own schedules and have no control over who is scheduled and when.  Management does not seem to comprehend that therapists are intrinsically motivated to provide good care and build rapport and that "productivity" requirements do not provide additional motivation to encourage client participation.  They consistently send the message that providers should be "doing more" and expect concurrent documentation within a 45 minute session.  The job culture is highly top down.  I never felt heard by those in charge and honestly had no idea what they were doing most of the time, as they would only be around for a couple of hours per week.  I enjoyed the challenge of the work itself until I burned out after about a year (and more severely 2 years) and loved the other providers, but the disconnect between management and providers seemed to grow more severe every month.  It got to the point where I couldn't even get a response to basic questions that needed answered by management.  I've never felt so unappreciated and ignored in a job.

I worked at a rural satellite office.  Typically 5-8 clients per day, but 10 was not uncommon (at least a couple of times per month).  When my schedule was extra full, I was able to convince management to allow 2 hours of paperwork time per week, but this had to be mathematically proven by having an extremely low client "no show" rate.  Otherwise, paperwork time was not scheduled.  There is a 2 hour staff meeting with no clinical benefit per week and the rest of the week is meant to be used for billable direct client hours.  Very little time for staff to support one another and exchange clinical feedback.  There is also a definite vibe that the main Vigo County office is by far the priority and the satellite offices get put on the back burner.

I had served as a graduate level intern here at HCI. In the very short time I was here, there was a lot I did not care for even right from the beginning. I did not care for how the orientation and onboarding process went as it took a really long time between when I interviewed and my actual start date which was about a month. I also was not very pleased that I was having unnessecary vaccines being pushed on me, one that I had already had when I was a baby and the other was chicken pox. The health clinic they use for this, they had never asked me if I had ever had chicken pox as a child, they had just assumed that I was never vaccinated since its not on my immunization file. Even though i was told i could decline the vaccine, I still felt as though i had no choice to take it out of fear I would get in trouble by the agency as well as my school for not complying with onborading requirements. I had chicken pox as a child and I later provided proof of immunity. HR to me was also not the most organized as far as getting things done and communicating with me properly on where I am supposed to be and at what time. There is so many different required trainings that it feels never ending. Then after just 2 months, I was let go because I was being compared to other interns in that I was not learning fast enough and at their level even though I was doing what was asked of me and making sure I asked questions to understand what was expected of me. I did all of that but still wasn't good enough. They are slow at getting you a start date as well as onboarding and training but they are very quick to fire you if you arent picking up fast enough even though I am a slow learner which is made more difficult for me due to a disability. 

They lie about what to expect.  They did not tell me my pay rate until they offered the job.  It is good pay, and the benefit premiums are affordable, but there is low return on that, meaning high deductible insurance that does not even pay anything on prescriptions.  This is something I did not know before I started.  I was supposed to be able to work onsite, and two months in, they sent me home to work.  I had to use my personal cell phone, but they never have reimbursed a dime for that.  They did not communicate well while I was home.  When they would call, it was always while I was off the clock.  This was supposed to be a rotating shift position, with the schedule out a month in advance.  I found out yesterday that I would be straight evenings and overnights.  I would not have signed up for that.  They also change the schedule daily without telling me.  Do not work here if you have a life or want to have a life.

I worked there maybe 7 months in that time there were a staggering number of people resigning ....they only care about billable hours to Medicaid. While there for only about 6-7 months I had three different supervisors. The IT programs you are required to use are the worst I have ever dealt with in 15 years . Also, for a salary of 28,000 they thought I should take work home with me each night and write case plans/ plans of care (same thing just required to enter twice if not more). So that I could have more billable hours...no one ever asked how my clients( children 5- 17) were doing and when I took a real concern to a therapist ( a child threatening suicide) I received no reaction or intervention what so ever!    If anyone says they liked working there ... they are false and probably a ringer for the corporation....frankly I believe the Hamilton Center Coporation should be investigated before getting another dime from the government!

As a Case Manager, I took joy in assisting clients in obtaining what they needed in order to complete treatment.  My supervisor was a good supervisor and ensured that I had everything I needed to get the job done.  I can not say the same about other supervisors, directors,and leadership.  Dissonance between what leadership preaches and what leadership demands is perplexing.  Work was enjoyable for the most part, that is if one enjoys working with people with severe mental illness, but I believe that Case Loads were too big for one Care Manager. and too much was asked of Care Manager's outside of taking care of their normal caseload.  I enjoyed being a Case Manager, but also had to take on the responsibilities of four other positions, which lead to stress/burnout.

Many inefficient aspects of the job, high risk, and poor pay for the work that is done.

Allocation of resources is baffling.

I believe the "corporation" would benefit from being restructured from the top to down.

This place is by far a joke to work at. Management makes broken promise after broken promise. The gossip and negativity consumes this company, and I would never recommend anyone to work at Hamilton Center, let alone see anyone at Hamilton Center. There have been so many problems with retaining staff members, there have been problems with harassment at this place, they are very strict on who you can communicate with, if you go above someone forget it. There is a lack of accountability, no one ever gets fired, because they would rather keep a body who can’t do a decent job, than have no therapist or case manager, prescriber,  any sort of staff. This is the most unorganized, and hostile work environment, I have ever worked in, and the toll it’s taken on my mental health is why I had to remove myself. Stay away at all costs, or you’ll question why you entered the field just as well. 

Hamilton Center is a great company to work for. They have wonderful managers, great training, and there is advancement opportunities. A typical day at work involves working with my staff, going to meetings, working with the consumers, running reports, making sure our consumers have benefits, treatment planning, and advocating for our consumer's rights. The most enjoyable part of my job, is it's self rewarding, it's the little things the consumer's appreciate. It just makes you feel good, knowing you were able to help someone else, and make a difference in their lives. Not many of our consumer's have family or many friends, so they turn to us for support, and assistance. Helping and putting our consumer's first is our motto! One thing I'm proud to say, that Hamilton Center does a wonderful job at, putting our consumer's first. I couldn't ask for better staff, I work with great and wonderful people.

With the change in leadership the company changed its focus from the clients to maximizing revenue, which is unfortunate as they maintain their "non-profit" status.  New CEO is a politician and acts the part: self-aggrandizing a constant double talk.  No support for employees.  Productivity expectations rose each year, while salaries stay frozen and benefits are cut.  CEO raved that last year was the most profitable in history, yet it was also the first year that no bonuses were awarded.  He gave himself a 10% raise, however.  Just a miserable place to be and management knows it.  By the time I left they were actively looking for disgruntled employees to push out the door.  CEO began sitting-in on and dictating interviews.

I worked at the Hamilton Center for a little over eight months. I only stayed this long thinking my concerns about this place would actually be heard and recognized by management, and I was absolutely wrong. Basically this company fosters an environment that is stressful and counterproductive for every single employee. I am a Therapist, but I noticed case managers as well as other positions like front desk staff constantly on edge with the way they're treated here. The company always has many job openings available, FOR GOOD REASON. The Managers just care about productivity at the expense of employees' sanity. Self care is not a recognized thing at this company. I could speak for hours and hours about the CEO as well, and would have nothing pleasant to say about that man. I've heard this was once a nice place to work... not anymore.

The primary focus of the agency is making money. Because of that many clients are referred for in house services they either don’t want or don’t need. Focus is on productivity and your productivity goal is based off of working 40 hours a week 52 weeks a year. If you have cancelations, vacations, ect you won’t meet your goal and won’t get a raise. There’s a lot of pressure to bill for unnecessary services with residential and case management staff. Management plays favorites and unless your a favorite you will not get promoted. Often times people in management roles do not have the education or experience to supervise their staff. High school level managers supervising bachelors and masters level staff. Pay is so low they have food baskets for lower tier employees. With a masters degree and two kids you’ll make so little you qualify for public assistance. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Therapist 32 salaries reported	$72,594 per year
Mental health technician 17 salaries reported	$18.19 per hour
Program assistant 22 salaries reported	$17.77 per hour
Licensed practical nurse 22 salaries reported	$30.85 per hour
Senior care manager 5 salaries reported	$39,260 per year

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