nursing assistant

housekeeper

dietary aide

resident assistant

transportation specialist

Oakwood Village

If you are a nurse and don't mind working long hours on your feet and working well past your scheduled time without a break than this is the place for you. For the rest of us, take my advice and apply elsewhere. Oakwood Village University Woods has some truly amazing nursing staff that are supportive and work great together as a team because, well, that is all they have is each other to get through the impossible workload. The nursing management on the other hand is not supportive, authoritative, and unprofessional.

The turnover rate for nursing staff is very high and the facility is often understaffed. The training period is short and poor. Many nurses find themselves working the floor before they are ready trying to juggle passing medications, giving treatments, assessments, vital signs, phone calls, admissions, discharges, and meeting resident and family needs. The amount of work to complete in eight hours is overwhelming and impossible. If you work here plan on staying anywhere from a half hour to 4 and a half hours past your scheduled shift. Also, many of days nurses are unable to find the time to take a break and while you are running around trying to meet the needs of the residents and demands of the managers you better be careful and not forget to do something or make a mistake because you will soon find yourself receiving nasty emails from the managers or find yourself being written up for poor performance. I gave Oakwood Village University Woods 3 stars for job security/advancement but that is not necessarily a good thing. If you are a registered nurse you will have job advancement whether you like it or not. Many of the RNs are forced to fill in as supervisor or charge nurse with little experience or training and find themselves having to make critical decisions in life threatening situations, managing staff, and dealing with resident and family complaints. You better hope you make the right decisions or you will be thrown under the bus by management.

Now for the good, the bad, and the ugly:

THE GOOD: the teamwork of the floor staff, always having hours available to pick up, the great residents and their families, and the $5 Panera gift card you get when you reach your yearly anniversary hire date. 

THE BAD: The long hours without a break, the many hours of overtime, and the stress of having too much to do in not enough time. 

THE UGLY: The unprofessional nursing management who would rather "term" staff than support, educate, and show them compassion.

The experienced nurse leadership team at Hebron has really turned this place around aeb better staff to resident ratio and a more supportive environment so that as a new(er) nurse, one would not feel completely lost or have no one to go to for guidance and direction. Generally speaking, Nurses rule the roost in health care, so when you have a strong group of RNs leading the way, the results are clear: better healthcare outcomes for the residents, increased  resident and family satisfaction, employee retention, and an esteemed reputation in the community as a high quality SNF. There are so many genuinely caring staff members at Oakwood West Hebron, from nurses to CNAs and everything in between- pharmacy members, dining, therapy. As a former RN at Oakwood, I could attest to the fact that we worked very hard at our jobs every single solitary day to take care of our precious residents, but knowing that we made a difference at the end of our shift was fulfilling and extremely rewarding. The camaraderie among team members helped get some us through the occasional difficult shifts. If I was having a bad day, I knew I could lean on my coworkers and vent without being judged or brushed off. you will be able to develop and hone your assessment and nursing skills at Hebron. Doctors and NPs  rely on your ability to detect any slight changes in condition and update/make recommendations. The general concensus is that the nurses at Hebron are well respected by the residents, other depts, and healthcare providers for the ability to think quickly and independently while on their feet  and advocate for the vulnerable population being cared for.

Classroom training is extensive, but on the job training by coworkers is not taken seriously. Most caretakers or "resident assistants" don't care about the residents. 
A lot of the residents that are in assisted living should be in a skilled nursing facility. I've never been to another place or facility with residents with such extreme needs that were not in skilled nursing. 
Most of the workers are not trained properly to care for the residents. Most of the workers don't even know how to make a bed properly. I don't think a two day skills class is sufficient supplement to do the work of a CNA, which a lot of the residents would benefit from. 
They are required to have a CNA in the rehabilitation area, but those CNAs are very bad. They do not use best practices and communicable diseases such as covid are rampant despite the way they force residents to stay in their rooms. This whole facility makes just about any corporate nursing I have worked for look wonderful. It's not a good place. I remember working here briefly some ten years ago, and it seems to have changed dramatically. 

This was my first ever job as a CNA, and it definitely gave me the idea of where I do not want to work. As I got onto the floor, I noticed the extreme unprofessional behavior and attitude of the staff. Not all, but a majority. Staff would be on FaceTime and speaker phone in the middle of being with a resident. Staff would come in late, and the amount of gossip between employees was wild. I never felt appreciated for my work; matter of fact, I often felt like some staff would speak to me like I was in elementary school. Throughout my time at Oakwood, we have gone through multiple directors, and I never really knew who to go to if there were any issues. When I did have questions or concerns, I would email the scheduler, and it took days, if not weeks, to get a response. I understand the scheduling conflicts, but more often than not, my questions or concerns would no longer have relevance when I finally did get a response. With all that being said, I did really enjoy my residents and their families, and they are people I will never forget; they were like the light in the dark. Based on my time at Oakwood, I advise others to think twice about working here, especially those who are just starting out in their CNA/RA positions. 

I’ve worked here for some time, and I want to be transparent for anyone considering this job. There are some real challenges. The pay is on the lower end for the amount of work expected, and management can be extremely strict - even small mistakes are heavily scrutinized. The work culture tends to feel tense, and it’s not always the most supportive environment.

For younger workers or those just starting out, I’d recommend seeing this as a temporary opportunity rather than a long-term path. Many of the long-time employees seem burnt out, which says a lot about the work-life balance here.

The physical condition of the campus also leaves a lot to be desired, especially considering the high costs residents are paying. It can feel disheartening to work in an environment where upkeep and morale are both overlooked.

That said, if you need short-term experience and are prepared for a high-pressure environment, this could be a stepping stone. But I strongly encourage anyone here to keep growing and looking for something that values both your work and your well-being.

The East Madison campus is a beautiful facility. The residents are awesome and it probably has one of the best activity departments I’ve seen thus far.
Unfortunately, the ALF side needs a complete management reset. Nurses are not set up for success with onboarding. Almost immediately I was scrutinized for not doing things perfectly, but was never trained. 1 week of shadowing and I was thrown to the wolves. 1 nurse to 90+ residents. They won't say it, but expect you to stay past 8 hours to complete whatever tasks, and if they aren't completed you are written up. In my time there, I was constantly asking for help and almost never got it. It is very cliquey and there is constantly gossip about other management and/or care staff. Rumors about myself started almost immediately upon starting in this position. 
They are not in state compliance whatsoever and trying to implement any real change is like pulling teeth.
Caregivers are constantly scrutinized and written up, yet are always working short staffed. This facility could be absolutely amazing, but management needs a complete reset.
Caregivers and nurses, don't work on the ALF side.
Skilled side is better.

My duties include food service preparation for a variety of dietary requirements, maintaining facility equipment to meet regulatory sanitary requirements and interacting with residents, their families and associates.
I've learned many problem solving strategies, techniques for working with a wide range of age groups and cultures and the importance of collaborating with management to overcome difficulties and constantly improve the quality of care provided.
My associates include a wide range of diverse cultures. I have found that most of my co-workers have similar wants and needs.
The biggest difficulty is dealing with a shortage of manpower due to illness and the challenges of still getting all of the required duties completed.
My management experiences have included many supervisers over a short period of time as operations are in a current stage of transition. I have a good relationship with my immediate superviser and she has been a source of motivation and encouragement.
The most enjoyable part of the job has been developing many close relationship with residents and staff.

After seeing that I was fast at cleaning, my work load was nearly tripled, but I did not get any recognition or compensation for my extra work. I remember I got caught by my supervisor sitting down between cleaning rooms and I got yelled at. I completed all of my tasks on Thanksgiving, and I was told I could go home after, but my supervisor changed her mind at the last minute (literally) and instead I had to stay and dust handrails for three hours. I wanted to switch my position and work in Resident Aid, but I was unable to due to the fact that my supervisor wanted me to stay as a housekeeper. HR, the woman who now works at the West side location, was an absolute witch. She was very condescending and looked at the housekeepers like we were incompetent animals. We were allowed 2 30 minute breaks during our shift, but one we were not allowed to leave the premises and we could also not work through. I told them I was very allergic to cats, and they insisted that I clean apartments with cats. They told me they were unable to give me special treatment and it had to be done.

Typical day- you show up and have an assignment that isn’t followed
I learned this company treats their employees as disposable human beings rather than live up to their motto of ‘people thrive here’.
Unit managers are awesome. Upper management not so much. They are rude and condescending. They don’t understand the workflow. 
The culture is gossipy and cliquey. Found out about my disciplinary action through hushed conversations rather than direct communication. 
Hardest part of the job was not knowing how your day was going to be. Main example was depending on who you were working with, you were either focused on your own groups or working together as a team. And if it was focused on your own group the other staff still expected you to more than your share of the work for working as a team.
Most enjoyable part was when the residents would be glad to see I was working that day or thank me for helping them get through their difficulties they were experiencing while they were coping with their newly presented challenges. 

For nursing staff- we chronically worked short staffed. There is a nursing shortage, but the business model and upper management involvement is poor and profit driven. My worst example is: I was begged to come work a PM shift and promised double time. When I arrived I found out that there were no other nurses scheduled and then management left at 5pm, leaving me with a ratio of 1:40 on a moderately high acuity Medicare floor. It was unsafe for the patients as well as for my license. A great majority of the nursing staff chronically worked 2-3 hours overtime just to finish the expected tasks. The one's who did not, left their work undone. There are wonderful staff here who genuinely care about the clients they serve and I did enjoy the people I worked with, but the support from the people who make the rules is lacking at best. I would recommend not  taking a job at this institution.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Nursing assistant 3 salaries reported	$20.51 per hour
Housekeeper 8 salaries reported	$18.50 per hour
Dietary aide 4 salaries reported	$17.00 per hour
Resident assistant 6 salaries reported	$16.46 per hour
Transportation specialist 1 salary reported	$16.50 per hour

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