nursing assistant

licensed practical nurse

registered nurse

health screener

nursing supervisor

Palm Garden Healthcare

When I applied for this position, it was my last resort after leaving my previous job due to a toxic work environment. I had hoped this new opportunity would offer a more positive and supportive atmosphere. At first, things seemed promising — my first few months were relatively smooth, and there weren’t any major issues.

However, as time went on, I began to notice some deeply concerning behaviors and patterns within the dietary staff. What initially seemed like a decent workplace quickly revealed itself to be filled with negativity, poor communication, and a lack of professionalism. These issues gradually made it clear that the environment was not as healthy or supportive as I had hoped.

During my time with the dietary staff, I encountered several challenges that made the work environment increasingly difficult. The night cook had a short temper and would often take out her frustration on the rest of the team, myself included. The morning cook also created a hostile atmosphere — I had an altercation with her after being unfairly criticized for being “too slow,” which led to me leaving the property, as I refused to tolerate being spoken to in such a disrespectful manner.

Additionally, when a new dietary aide joined, I was trying to explain the workflow to her when another new staff member began yelling at me, accusing me of ignoring him. I stood up for myself, as I believe in maintaining mutual respect in the workplace.

I also worked part-time night shifts with another coworker who was often unmotivated and more focused on leaving early than contributing to the team. He, too, called me "slow," which led to another conflict. Overall, the dietary team lacked professionalism and support, and nearly every day presented a new confrontation or conflict. The environment was toxic, and there was very little teamwork or encouragement.

As time went on, the ongoing negativity within the workplace began to take a toll on me. I noticed my motivation and work performance gradually declining. It felt like I was slowly disengaging from the role without formally saying it — a quiet resignation in response to the unhealthy environment.

Eventually, I found a new job opportunity that aligned better with my values and goals. After completing my final shift on Monday, I made the decision to move forward without looking back. It was the right choice for my well-being and professional growth.

This facility offers several amazing benefits. The employee perks program is the best that has ever been presented to me. Pay is very competitive. The mandatory education the facility requires also provides all of the CEUs needed for license renewal. This is a huge plus! Palm Garden also pays for nurses to obtain and maintain their CPR certification. 

For LPNs, this company pays for your LPN Supervisory and Dialysis Courses along with IV Certification! This alone can save around $1,000 of personal cost for advanced training. I would encourage a new nurse who is confident in their assessment skills to take advantage of this so they can take it with them elsewhere. They also have a very good employee assistance program. It will even help with covering the cost of a dog sitter while you're on vacation! There is actual 24 hour physician support. When you call, someone answers even if it's 3am. And, the provider you're speaking to is already awake!

From the nurse perspective, the fact that diagnostics and labs can be performed stat and ASAP in the building, the protocols such as Sepsis Evaluation and the physician support that is always available, this is the next best thing to working in a hospital if you don't have that experience already.

With that said:
If you accept employment at this facility, I would encourage you to enter with the question "If the benefits and education packages are so good and the provider support is so awesome (which they are and it is) why are they always hiring?" on your mind. Then, keep your eyes open to find the answer. I have no doubt that you will if you are seasoned.

Check my mailbox for messages and instructions and other information. Receive report from day managers, making note of all at risk residents, admissions, discharges, family and resident issues and concerns. Insure that adequate staffing is in place. Made room to room facility rounds, communicating with residents and family to receive first hand information to enable  me to begin to address and resolve issues and concerns. Supervised mealtime, assuring adequate staff  numbers required to serve food in timely manner, making 15 minute rounds to dining rooms during meal and ensuring that a nurse is present in each dining room during mealtime as scheduled. Retrieved lab results from  printer and deliver to nurse, called results to doctor as needed and took orders if necessary. Answering resident call lights to help keep wait times at a minimum. Mix IV meds as needed for nurses. Performed in- house EKGs per orders. Kept med refrigerators clean and removed expired meds. Stocked Pyxis nightly. Performed staff disciplines per orders.
I learned that teamwork and respect for all coworkers  is simply the right thing to do and it provides the best outcome for staff and residents alike. The hardest part of my job was giving written disciplines to staff members that I felt were too severe and only served to decrease overall staff moral. The most enjoyable part of the job was being able to make a positive difference in the lives of people I touch.

Was hired on a Friday two months ago received a call at 11 a.m. was told to be at the building at 2 p.m. in uniform was placed on One units quote orientation which was none then Saturday was thrown to another unit on the opposite side of the building for orientation again there was none then Sunday was to be in for orientation when was stuck on a med cart by myself and this proceeded to go on for a month-and-a-half and then today was my orientation day that should have been done prior to being placed on the floor and had a med error due to being put on a unit that had never been on did not know the residents and instead of doing a corrective action so one so forth they decided that they did not want me as an employee nor did I want to be their employee anymore if I were you as a nurse stay away from this place workload is very heavy and they expect you to walk in and know everything right away another thing to think about is when you have had employees that have been faithful for 10 15 20 years which is unusual in a nursing home that have all left within the last 3 months there is definitely a problem there unfortunately I was not able to work with the previous management that was there and would have loved to maybe things would be different

These facilities put the "Skill" in Skilled Rehab Center's.  I have learned so much from administration, culture enhancement, customer service program development, community outreach, and more.
This center is a clear picture of what you see is what you get, a clear and focused team to drive quality service every time. Palm Garden is a leader in the community because the staff focus is to lead by example. I was so happy with the care that I decided to place my own family as assurance of product quality. The hardest part is that I can't do more!! I enjoyed the centers activities and volunteered my time to help residents achieve full satisfaction. These residents were once independent members of society and need to be reminded that they still are and have not been forgotten by the community. What I enjoyed most at Palm Garden of Winter Haven was being able to tell a resident they where in good hands and we would do our best to get them back on their feet! As a matter of fact, it was true!!

A typical day at Palm Garden is fast paced, rewarding and centered on providing excellent care for our residents. Every day brings new opportunities to work together as a team and make a positive impact on someone's life.

Working here has taught me the value of teamwork, communication & compassion.

Management is supportive, approachable and genuinely wants team members to succeed. They recognize hard work and dedication!

The workplace culture is welcoming and team oriented. Everyone works toward the same goal of providing exceptional care while supporting one another.

The hardest part of the job can be balancing a busy workload, but the teamwork and support from coworkers help make even the busiest days manageable.

The most enjoyable part of the job is building relationships with residents and coworkers. Knowing that your work makes a difference every day is incredibly rewarding!

A typical day at work are to provide care to patients under the direction of registered nurse and physician. I was responsible for general duties like taking vital's signs, and administering certain types of oral and injectable medications.  I may need to go over doctor' reports, review treatment sheets, look at the patient's history records, and make sure understand exactly what stage of treatment the patient is currently in. Collect samples for lab tests at a certain time of the day, and may be assigned to deliver specimen samples to a lab outside of their department at some point during their shift.The most enjoyable part is working as a team, good communication, with help each other to provide a good care to our patients. One of the hardest is dealing with aids. Some are wonderful but other are very hard to take.When they're only there for the check, that, too, is miserable.

There is no structure in departments, a lot of negativity from management from within the facility itself, favoritism, and no recognition for those that go the extra mile for residents. You make one mistake and deemed incompetent or unworthy of your department. There is no push to hire from within. 

Some staff work together as a team and the elderly are so sweet and patient. You feel more appreciation from family members. Staff are not appreciated enough, especially the nursing staff. The atmosphere was better 3 years ago compared to today. Staff's voices or concerns are not heard.

Management outside of the company are extremely helpful, patient and follow up is amazing when it comes to seeking help or information. They really push the company's mission and Christian values. The best part to come to work to was  the residents and family members.

Consistently understaffed! Very little or no orientation/training for new hires. In fact, most new hire will quit after a couple days of the chaos of being thrown in the deep end with no assistance. I would not recommend this facility for a new nurse or CNA. Call-offs are uncontrolled, which adds to the strain of being consistently understaffed. The resident to staff ratio is extremely high. inadequate care. Ntraining for proper admitting or discharging procedures which are added to the responsibility of the extremely overworked staff. Extremely top heavy (lots of management running around) except for the 2nd or 3rd shifts (no assistance of any kind). The staff that stay are a good group of team players they must be, or it would be impossible to make it through a shift. They are the main reason for me to stay this long. That and the residents.

The nurses are rude and talk down to you. 
Call bells are always going off and CNAs and Nurses are sitting around and ignoring them. 
The building has roaches and ants. 
They don’t have enough wheelchairs and foot rests and cushions for the patients. 
They are always short staffed therefore the patients suffer and don’t get adequate care. 
They have a sign out front and have resorted to sending emails and letters in the mail trying to recruit because they can’t keep staff. 
The only good thing about the building is the Therapy staff minus the rehab manager (who recently got demoted thankfully). They genuinely care about the patients and do their best to provide excellent care despite the lack of supplies and support from nursing and management.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Nursing assistant 15 salaries reported	$18.28 per hour
Licensed practical nurse 13 salaries reported	$33.35 per hour
Registered nurse 4 salaries reported	$35.50 per hour
Health screener 37 salaries reported	$38.15 per hour
Nursing supervisor 2 salaries reported	$40.00 per hour

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