residential advisor

residential assistant

direct support professional

service coordinator

clinician

Pittsburgh Mercy

I have worked for Pittsburgh Mercy at a few different locations and different positions. Overall, I think the company CAN provide good service to the community. However, I feel like they miss on that opportunity in many areas as care for individuals served is hit and miss. Some programs are great, others are terrible. Below are some points I've noticed in my time with them.

Pros:

It's great experience for those who are just getting into the field for mental health. For those who just graduated with their bachelor's or master's, there can be a lot of learning opportunities to be had.

The company offers a lot of benefits (health, dental, vision, disability, life). PTO is just over 5 hours per pay period (though you can't cash out any PTO if you leave)

There are some good people who work for the agency and some good programs to work for. Also a good opportunity to make some good connections.

The agency offers a lot of trainings for staff both online and in-person. For those with certifications and licenses, there are trainings that are offered that will satisfy CE credits.

Cons:

For supervisors, it varies from location to location. One supervisor gave me a months worth of training while another location gave me no training at all despite vast differences between the locations. You either get limited support from supervisors or micromanaging and it's a challenge at times to find anyone who will give you a straight answer to an inquiry. It feels like a lot of staff and supervisors will pass the buck to someone else.

Questionable ethical practices within the organization on a few levels from levels of care to salaries between men and women.

Depending on the supervisor, training opportunities and advancement are not encouraged. You do have to be employed 6 months before you can transfer within the agency, which is fine, but it often feels as though they don't want to invest in current employees which is echoed by many long time employees I worked with. There is a lot of burnout amongst staff as well.

Job security can be questionable. A couple of years ago, they let go of about 50 middle management people and re-hired about half in other positions. I've seen a couple good clinicians get fired when it seemed all they did was stand up for what's right. Also have heard a few veteran staff discuss how they will hire someone new, you will train them, then they will replace you with the person you trained (depending on the position).

Pay is average for bachelor's level clinicians (around $12-14/hr) and unlicensed master's level clinicians ($17-19/hr). Pay is low for clinicians who are licensed ($20-22/hr). Some supervisors make around that range even if they're licensed. Within the last 10 years, there have only been 3 raises given out. They are trying something new now with raises based on performance so no idea how that'll go.

There just seems to be a certain level of shadiness to how some things are done/handled within the agency.

Overall:
Overall, I feel like there's a lot of things that can be better with the organization. I want to believe Pittsburgh Mercy has good values and, in some programs, I've seen some awesome things. Company-wide though, there are a lot of issues and a lot of burnout. Inconsistent training and supervisors but count your lucky stars if you get a good one. It's a great experience for individuals just getting in the field or need hours to get licensed. After that, many clinicians leave like I will be soon. If you can suck it up and look past the  extracurricular nonsense that can occur, you can learn a lot. Good experience at times but often times thinking about the next possible opportunity.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The first 3 months. Serially understaffed with no sense of urgency to fill critical positions to relieve already overworked/stressed staff.  Culture not positive as a result. Abusive and negligent executive management who just want to know numbers. Zero substantive recognition or appreciation for work. Tech is average and internal communication and commitment to best practices only subjectively present by people who are aware what that means. Sloppy professionalism across the board. Diverse only on the surface.  Clique-ish culture of tenured employees and unacceptable caseloads for clinicians serving most severe and vulnerable mentally ill/IDDT patients. Pay is legitimately atrocious and insulting. DO NOT WORK HERE. IT'S A TRAP.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
See prior comment as I was unaware of Survey format


What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work culture is an operational delusion that you can make an impact on people's lives with barebones staff where substantive therapy interventions  are simply not possible. As a result of understaffing you have a title but rarely have the autonomy to operate according to it's expectations or your own ambitions for your position.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It's a soul crushing grind that forces you to accept their version of "healthcare".

My position is a Dual Disorder Therapist at Pittsburgh Mercy. I work to keep those with severe mental illness, who also have a substance use disorder, from being unnecessarily admitted to the hospital.  Mercy has good benefits and their pay for Community Treatment is fairly decent however since I began working for the agency they've taken to gradually micro-managing our duties.  I'm not imaging this, if you may be wondering, as I've heard senior clinicians unprompted say this was a major reason for their leaving.  If it weren't for the ever-growing unreasonable expectations, on top of an already impossible job description, I could see myself staying here for years.  In fact I told my Supervisee that was my intention six months ago but the culture just got worse and then the micro-managing to boot?  I can't get a break... no, literally, we have to be done by 4 and most days I can't make time for a break. I've got to hold it in for hours.

I have worked different jobs in different departments over the last six years and I would find it hard to leave Pittsburgh Mercy. The pay is less than standard and we see many coworkers leave for higher paying jobs in the same field. Coworkers on their way out have shared they are being offered $7 more an hour for the  same job. Pittsburgh Mercy is notoriously understaffed and their residential programs suffer tremendously with this. They like to promote from within so there are many supervisors who would never hold leadership positions with other agencies but they’ve worked for Pittsburgh Mercy for years. My direct supervisors have always been supportive, understanding and promote continued growth in employees who work hard.  Our new CEO seems to genuinely be interested in spending his time talking with direct care workers and making a difference in the community. The population we work with makes the job truly special. If you’re passionate about helping vulnerable people in the community you will enjoy working here.

There was less micromanaging than other human service organizations but small things were blown way put od proportion, and they would throw you under the bus when things you didn't have control over went down. Also I'd the next staff didn't come in the supervisor wouldn't come in to relieve you. They would just make you wait as man hours as it took or pull someone if they could but never come in and help you out. Safety concerns were ignored and a disrespectful tone was the norm from most managers. Also we were told no when we tried to call off sick. They'd say no, call back if you're still sick tomorrow, but we want four hours notice, so unless you wanted to not sleep in while you were sick because they didn't believe you, you were expected to get up over 4 hours early the next day to call back. I would just stay on the phone and argue until they accepted that I wasn't coming in. Most managers didn't have your back and neither dis a lot of staff members even if you were a good employee. Upper management seemed happy and well paid and treated but lower members of the organization were not. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The medical benefits were pretty good. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
They working environment specifically at the shelter. It is unsafe and no one cares. There is no support from higher administration. The senior manager and up do not respond to phone calls or emails. You can bring your concerns to them directly and will receive no acknowledgment that that hear you or understand you. They don’t even respond to an email to say “I will get back to you”. Nothing. You will only see the upper administration when it’s time for a photo opportunity with the mayor or some media outlet. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It is a hostile work environment with no accountability. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Pure chaos. Supervisors cannot make a decision on their own and they are people pleasers. The supervisors always seem to need reassurance before making a decision even if the decision is needed immediately.

Typical day incorporated meetings with staff & management regarding daily operations and long-term strategic goals for the department.  Collaboration with internal & external partners to meet needs of staff, persons served, & community. 

Great opportunities to expand skills in representing the organization outside department (i.e. learned how to conduct investigations, trained in culture, change, & engagement facilitation).

Workplace culture was competitive among management; however, mission to serve those in need remained primary focus of company culture.  Minimal opportunity for advancement beyond director role. 

Challenges included execution of planned/strategic changes or maintaining implemented changes.

Within the past year and a half the organization has deteriorated substantially. Current administration is unsupportive and generally incompetent-- they are unaware of the most basic rules and regulations of practice. Direct line staff from secretaries to therapists are treated like children-- not included, or even made aware of decisions; being yelled at; and being moved around (between sites) at will. There is no support when needed.

Moreover, treatment of clients is abhorrent. The organization is extremely short staffed and does not have enough staff to meet current clients' needs, but continues to take on new clients. With all the staff turnover, clients have been left without services for months. 

Overall, a place to avoid at all costs.

Micromanaging, nitpicking, in unconstructive criticism, chaotic demands, unreasonable expectations, poor communication, management out of touch with employees and not doing their jobs, lack of acknowledgement and support. Stressful workloads, high turnover and poor employee morale. The workplace culture here is broken and values of the organization are not aligned with how employees are treated. I worked hard, loved my clients and did my job well, but they did not care. I felt psychologically unsafe, ignored when I expressed concerns and targeted when told them I needed disability accommodations which were denied. While it depends on the dept, supervisor and position, I cannot recommend working here.

I have been working on CTT for 5 years, and was promoted to a supervisory position within my team there. Working with my team really feels like family. The team cohesion is so strong and what makes coming to work truly worthwhile everyday. The job can be very intense and fast-paced, and stress and burnout are definitely common, but the PTO we earn really helps afford staff to take time off to refresh. The pay isn’t great, a lot of the time I do not think that myself or staff on my team are paid fairly for the work we do. But this job has enabled me to have a pretty decent work-life balance, and has been flexible so that I could really have a life and take care of things outside of work. Also job security is high here, I don’t worry about losing my job which is so nice compared with previous jobs!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Residential advisor 16 salaries reported	$16.04 per hour
Residential assistant 62 salaries reported	$16.37 per hour
Direct support professional 4 salaries reported	$15.12 per hour
Service coordinator 1 salary reported	$38,450 per year
Clinician 4 salaries reported	$21.97 per hour

Working at Pittsburgh Mercy: Company Overview and Reviews

Pittsburgh Mercy

Pittsburgh Mercy Ratings

Popular jobs at Pittsburgh Mercy

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected