caregiver

medication aide

cook

nursing assistant

server

Milestone Retirement Communities

If you're going to work in the IT department then I'd strongly advise against it. You'll most likely work next to an older employee who is constantly sighing every minute of the day because of how stressed out he is. You get no support from other IT members because they're too busy with their own tickets/calls. Even though you might like the family-oriented culture everyone is incredibly stressed out because they are always understaffed and overworked. The office is a joke because it's too small to fit around 40+ employees. Accountants do a lot of filing in the middle of the hallway so you have to step around them to get anywhere. Most employees come into work sick and get everyone else sick which is pretty annoying. I almost had a heart attack from working here because of the anxiety of the job wanting hundreds of iPads and Laptops staged within 1-2 days which is realistically impossible. A really good receptionist left and they still haven't found anyone to replace her and it's been a few months. The public restrooms are gross and sometimes they run out of basic things like hand soap. The one hour lunches were nice and sometimes they had catering from Buffalo Wild Wings or Jimmy John's. The ticketing system was easy to use but Microsoft Exchange email almost always went down and tons of people would call in asking about it. A lot of their internal hardware and software crashes and gets random errors that the IT department has to try and fix. They never have enough hardware in stock for staging let alone the cubicle space to even fit multiple laptops near your workstation. Dealing with 33 communities and only having 4 people on the IT team is kind of a joke too. My IT Manager was really nice and helpful while others were always too busy and not very supportive. The commute was also good for me since I live in the area. Overall if you're looking for a helpdesk job I'd steer clear of this company. You get duplicate tickets for the same issues you fixed, a lot of stuff crashes like email without an ETA of when it will be working, and I only genuinely liked a couple people that worked there. I liked helping people around the country but most people leave at 5 pm so if they're in a different time zone you can't do anything after 2 pm. This job will stress you out and it never lets up. The job was awful but the management was decent and the workload is unrealistically doable. Also, they had tons of construction going on outside the restrooms and the dishes would pile up in the break room daily. If anything work here temporarily but not for the long term. Most employees haven't even worked there for a year or two so clearly there's a high turnover rate. They were pretty desperate for new employees and on the phone interview they said "This job will be incredibly stressful and most of the time overwhelming" so at least they attempted to make that clear to me before I got hired on. I also want to mention that some of the departments are incredibly loud, annoying, and laughing half the time in an open suite behind the IT team which was super irritating when your job is the most stressful department of them all.

A typical day at work has a lot of resident care, which includes assistance in toileting, changing briefs, and showers, assisting residents around the facility, and assisting residents with getting ready for the day or night (You deal with a lot of brief changes and will have to assist people in cleaning up after using the restroom!!). If you are a medication aide, you assist residents with taking medications, take on a supervisory position for caregivers, and assist in changes in conditions such as falls, skin tears, and more; this includes taking vitals, calling appropriate management teams, and sometimes calling EMTs. 

Management tries their best, but communication is lacking in plenty of areas. There were times when some managers messed with the schedule and didn't tell anyone about the changes, which threw everyone off. There is not great training here and many staff members are not confident in their abilities to respond appropriately to situations. There is no procedure on how to train someone, and every caregiver does tasks differently and may forget key information if the day doesn't bring it up (like where incident report paperwork is). I have seen almost brand new staff members have to train people and management is not very involved with training except in getting the paperwork completed. However, a majority of the staff at my location were phenomenal and overcame hurdles together. Caregivers and medication aides are reliable and have a passion for their work. There are some people who you generally don't like to work with because they are not proactive, but the resident interactions make up for it most times. 

The hardest part of the job can be the pressure put on you, both from supervisors and the pressure of being "in charge" of someone else's health. There are times when it is non-stop because so many residents need assistance or supervisory staff (nurses) ask you to do extra things or do not support you when you need it. Working with the elderly also means losing residents at times, and watching them decline over time can be very hard. You work closely with people with dementia which can be very stressful and confusing. You are also likely to see and deal with all kinds of bodily fluids which can be a huge no for people.  

The most enjoyable part of the job is the residents. So many residents are thankful to you and make you feel so much joy in assisting them with something. You can quickly form close connections with residents and learn so much from them. If taking care and helping people is something you are passionate about, this job is very fulfilling and loving. 

They hire you for a certain shift only to tell you there’s no availability for that shift and finesse you into working a shift you don’t want to but feel forced to say yes due to needing a job. Med techs get the worse end of the stick, ESPECIALLY the pm med tech. After 5:30pm you are responsible for both memory care and assisted living. You have NO help and NO support whatsoever. The ED will constantly tell you that he’s “working on hiring a 2nd medtech” or census is almost to the point of getting a 2nd med tech but that day never comes. You have to rush to pass meds to both units (50+ residents)in a matter of 2 hours all while being called on the radio here there and everywhere in between. You’re helping answer pendants because care partners are behind, you’re called to go sign meds from pharmacy, you’re called to give prn’s, if there’s a fall you drop everything you’re doing to assist that resident, all in the middle of passing meds for two different units. You have to work through your lunch break because you have no time to finish passing meds in both areas. Management can’t be bothered to help, even tho the ED is supposedly an lvn. They’d rather sit in their offices talking to eachother and doing nothing. The new nurse is too busy having a bad attitude and being rude and scaring off outside agencies and hiring her own employees from her previous job. Management bullies you. They blow up your phone outside of work and expect you to answer when you’re entitled to having a life outside of work ON YOUR DAYS OFF. And god forbid if you don’t answer, better believe your hours will be cut the next day because they got salty you didn’t respond. And the food?? Ugh. The “chef” swears like he’s this big time chef but makes awful canned food and dishes full of potatoes, food that’s never hot. The residents even say it’s somewhat “edible”, or “it could be worse”. People pay thousands of dollars a month for terrible food, for even worse care care, and absolute disgraceful management. NOT TO MENTION, this company doesn’t even pay overtime. So they will ask you to work a double shift (16 hours) but you will not get compensated as such. And if you bring it up to HR, she will try to say they’re not required to pay overtime and she will forward your private emails to corporate. ITS CALIFORNIA LAW to pay OT for shifts over 8 hours.!This is the worst company I’ve ever worked for and I’m so glad to be done with them. Management makes it seem amazing at first but once you’ve worked there you see how terrible and unorganized this place is. Do yourself a favor and work somewhere else. But if you’re into being bullied, overworked, underpaid, stressed out, poorly fed, and unfairly treated then this is for sure the place for you.

I worked at eagle lake village for six months then I had to resign because I had taken more college courses. After four months of not working there I began to miss it. I missed seeing  the residents happy and joyful faces and hearing their story’s about their experiences in their lives. So because I missed my job so much I decided to come back to work at eagle Lake Village. One week into my training for care partner and med tech. I was surprised to see that the old executive director was gone and a new executive director sat in that office. At first I didn’t know if this was going to be a good change or not. But today I can definitely say that this change in management was for the better. The change in management made this facility have less toxic vibes and made staff more happy to come to work because of the work environment that he soon established. The new executive director is very caring and humble. His number one priority is the residents and the quality care that they deserve. So he came in and made many changes that were not there before. For example, we now wear hair nets when serving food to the residents, staff are not permitted to have their cell phone on their person. These little changes are simple things that increase the quality of care for our residents. I love the fact that we are no longer allowed to have our cell phones because now we can give the residents our undivided attention when caring for them. The new executive director is also very good with his employees. He makes many of us feel like we actually have a voice, unlike when we had the other management where it was harder to speak up and communicate with the old executive director because many of us felt that our voices wouldn’t be heard. The new executive director makes eagle lake village a very comfortable and friendly environment for both residents and staff members. Our new executive director makes us feel appreciated, he isn’t just there to correct us when we are doing something incorrectly but he also recognizes and thanks us when we do our best at our job. I personally am very satisfied with our new leadership that has  been put in place since I have returned to work at eagle lake village.

I was a caregiver here. Training takes place over the course of three days, which is honestly not enough time to know the ins and outs of the job. There are 2-3 caregivers assigned to the entire Assisted Living section of the building (about 100 residents) and 2 assigned to each of the Memory Care wings (about 16 residents per, 32 total). This is absolutely not enough people to make sure that residents have their needs met in a timely manner, which is unsafe. Management makes little to no effort to help out when Caregivers are struggling with their workload, even though they insist that they do -- asking for assistance when needed or voicing concerns are often met with annoyance instead.
Additionally, even though most staff are college students, the schedule is highly inflexible and management is unwilling to work with student staff when it comes to this -- then constantly complains about being understaffed. If they had shorter shifts available and were willing to hire more people, caregivers would be able to take on more shifts and would not be so overworked and stressed while on the job. Work life balance is almost nonexistant as well; caregivers are frequently pressured into staying late or working doubles, even when management is well aware that they are overworked. I once worked a 60 hour week between my position at Bishop and my other job, which management was well aware of. I had one day off that entire week and management attempted to pressure me into coming in anyways, despite me telling them that I was overworked and exhausted.
Finally, the compensation is far to low for the amount of work required of the position. They pay minimum wage for a highly specialized job that requires staff to be active, alert, and on their feet for eight hours a day or more.
The residents themselves are wonderful, and it's nice to be able to commiserate with your coworkers, but management makes the job so terrible and stressful that it's no wonder they have such a high rate of turnover.

The days could be long and very busy, especially when caring for a person's personal needs on a day to day basis. However, the challenges in the job were worth the gratitude you received from helping the residents. A typical day at Eagle Lake Village whether in Assisted Living or Memory Care could be very trying. When working in assisted living there were several tasks to be completed starting with waking up and completing tasks for certain residents who required assistance. These duties included but were not limited to: helping a resident use the restroom, assisting with showers, dressing the resident, escorting the resident to the dinning room for meals or to different activities within and outside the community. I was also responsible for serving their meals and drinks and clearing and cleaning the tables once the residents left the table. When working in memory care the daily dynamics are a bit different. In memory care there were sixteen residents, all of which were incontinent, and two caregivers. The caregivers were responsible for dressing the resident and showering a specific resident on his/her scheduled shower day. Once those tasks were completed each resident was taken to the dining area for their meals. We served the residents food, specific to his/her diet, and cleaned the dining area once the residents were finished. The tasks may change depending on the shift that you are working, but for the most part the daily tasks remain the same.

I started with Milestone at Lighthouse Memory Care in Anacortes in February 2016.  I have worked for a number of companies in this industry and I have to say that I am happiest here and it is where I plan to stay.  

I am in Management, but haven't always been.  I can tell you that our ratio at Lighthouse and the model that we use on the floor is among the strongest that I have seen.  Because Demetia care can have a high burnout because its intense, Lighthouse uses a three caregiver and one med tech model for day and evening shift, and two to one on NOC.  There is also a shower aide twice per week in addition to that so that care staff isn't pulled off the floor.  

Our Activities team is FOUR people!  they are here 7 days per week, and one of the best things about all of this is that our residents are engaged!  

As the marketing director, I never worry about taking tours and what I'll run into because our community is clean, our residents are loved, the majority of our care staff is outstanding and the love they have for our residents shines through.  

We would like to add more of the same to our team, and I can't say enough the positive experience I have had with the company and with our community.  Every community has bumps...because that's the nature of working as and with human beings.  but I am thankful to have found someplace I'm not just proud of but still love to come to work each day.

I absolutely loved working at The Mansions at Waterford! until new management; Milestone property took over. The care of the residents has gone down so drastically!  Memory care went downhill. The residents just sat in their rooms, they were overmedicating to keep them subdued and out of the way. They stopped doing activities with the memory care residents before they had a lady that did all kinds of activities with them it was a happy place. Within a month the care was just deplorable! it was sad to see the neglect and how unhappy the residents said they were and wanting to move; All in all, it just went downhill and it's very disconcerting seeing as they are supposed to be caring for their residents but all it's about now is the money. The management is lazy, they don't stay on top of things. They just pass the buck without really ever doing anything about the issues. Scheduling is a joke. They give you a day off then ask you last min to come in, just to tell you to go home so you don't get overtime.  They will cut your hours even if you're full time, or make you work overtime and not pay you for it.  Nursing is so understaffed, we had to work back to back shifts all the time. There are serious issues with this company. I would not ever recommend them. I would not ever have a family member live here.

Working with the elderly is something I have always been passionate about. I started as a receptionist here at The Meadows Senior Living and have worked my way up. I feel that if you have strong work ethic, you will do well in any business and honestly, that's where I was able to stand out. Working here has been an experience that I could only have hoped for. The management team has always given me the opportunity to come to them with questions and after a year of being here, I am proud to say I have already come a long way. Appreciation doesn't begin to describe how I feel towards the staff that has helped me get to where I am. I received my first promotion before my one year and I have also received training in other departments so I can do so much more than I ever imagined. I'm lucky to work for a company that not only sees where i stand out as an employee, but as a person. Our corporate team visits at least once a month and calls frequently. Some people may think that's unusual, but it's usually a positive visit and I love that even our owner has a hand in always trying to better our community for the residents and employees. They LISTEN to us. Now of course, nothing is perfect and it's definitely not all of the time that's for sure but change also doesn't happen over night. You may not always like your coworkers but regardless, I will say, just a little team work goes a long way and I have never felt so appreciated at a job as I do here.

As a mother, wife, a daughter and a friend to many, working with Milestone Retirement has allowed me a multitude of ways to extend the nurturing love and care I possess to each resident. The wide diversity creates an environment of extraordinary characters with different values and opinions. The culture is not limited to one person or one team as we all adapt and learn to respect and appreciate every employee. From the moment you walk through the doors, it's obvious in the fast-paced movement that tasks are being completed and everyone has a role to play to create the unique experience for all residents at Milestone.
In my experience, each manager has displayed commitment and dedication to ensuring that employees are treated fairly and are given recognition when due. They are committed to creating a safe, comfortable and inviting workspace with plenty of benefits that have encouraged me as an employee to strive for higher positions and excel.
Being at Milestone Retirement, it's the ideal place to work with friendly staff and memorable patients all creating the perfect formula for happiness in a job. If you are looking for an opportunity to enjoy what you do, while providing service that adds value to the world then Milestone Retirement Communities is the place for you.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Caregiver 15 salaries reported	$20.97 per hour
Medication aide 23 salaries reported	$20.85 per hour
Cook 19 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour
Nursing assistant 17 salaries reported	$18.35 per hour
Server 21 salaries reported	$16.22 per hour

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