registered nurse

licensed vocational nurse

mental health therapist

nurse

admissions specialist

Red River Hospital

A rather lengthy post. 4 years and 5 months of working to care for patients who are struggling with mental illness and addiction. During that time I worked with some really great people who I will always feel blessed to count as friends. I hope that somewhere along the way I might have planted a seed or two in the hearts of some of my patients struggling with addiction by sharing my own struggle. I hope that I made a difference in a life or two of a patient struggling with depression or a much more severe diagnosis. I hope that through my teaching/ training, staff learned something from me that they can carry with them. 
I have given 100% ten times over. However, it just was never enough. Last month, out of no where, I was demoted because my position was no longer needed or approved by corporate.  Mind you this was done in the most unprofessional way, on the unit where other coworkers and patients could hear. I asked to have the conversation elsewhere and was denied. Yes I reacted. Who wouldn't? And they tried to suspend me for reacting. Really?
Because of all the time, dedication, and going above and beyond and so much more coupled with the realization it just didn't matter to administration, I suffered a nervous breakdown. Wich affected my physical health as well. Ironic isn't it, I worked for a place that is suppose to help others overcome and deal with depression and other issues and they pushed one of their own employees to a breakdown. So my last hope is this, I hope that Red River Hospital administration will one day wake up and realize why in just the last few months countless employees have left, and finally decide its time to see something other than dollar signs and learn to care about and value the staff because without staff there is no direct care for patients,  and maybe, just maybe, they will learn that truth and honesty goes a long way. 
So, with all this being said yesterday marked the end to 4 years and 5 months. I took a month off, and picked myself up.  God is just moving me in another direction. To the ones that have checked on me, prayed for me and just sat with an open ear and listened to me sob, thank you and bless you. It was just God doing for me what I couldn't and wouldn't do for myself.  Now on to much better things! To those that are now reaping what they have sown, well karma always shows up and shows out.

There are several great staff members who work hard and desire to care for patients. The Dr.’s care for the patients and the Staff. It is unfortunate that the Leadership Team under the direction of the corporate offices does not seem to have the same desire to provide good care. Senior Leadership often pressures staff to maintain census in unethical ways and limits staffing to where patient care environments are not safe. These directives jeopardize those Staff who maintain professional licenses. 

Staff are forced to flex off and go unpaid or use their vacation time. Senior Leadership views staff as easily replaceable so those who speak up against these practices are ostracized and eliminated quickly. 

At times, floor staff engage in appropriate conversations about patients where patients can hear. Staff tend to gossip about one another as well. Certain groups of Staff also lack healthy boundaries in activities outside of the hospital. 

The amount of expected productivity is impossible to reach due to Staff having to cover and do jobs that really require 2 people. This applies even when census is high and all Staff are allowed to work.

I do not recommend people go to Red River for acute care treatment unless it is absolutely the last resort. The outpatient program is safer and better as far as actual treatment, however, even there Staffing is shorted and Staff are overwhelmed with too many responsibilities. 

The work and life balance is extremely poor. Texts and phone calls to your personal cell occur every day and hour of the night. Social services staff must work weekdays and weekends. Leaving “on time” rarely occurs to to other staff calling ins or Leadership assigning new tasks that day that must be completed before you can leave. 

If one is new in the field, a positive is that you will be exposed to an array of patients and learn resources to assist them. However, you will also have to learn how to maintain your ethics due to the work environment.

I’ve been working as a Behavioral Health Tech at Red River, and honestly, I didn’t expect to enjoy the job as much as I do. Every day is different. The environment can be crazy, unpredictable, and challenging at times, but that’s also what keeps the job interesting.

A couple of years out of high school, I knew I didn’t want to work in fast food or a typical retail job. I wanted something where I could work with people and make a difference, and this job has given me that opportunity. Helping patients and being there for people who are going through difficult times is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.

The 12-hour shifts can definitely feel long, but the management team does their best to keep things running smoothly. The supervisors and people directly over the Behavioral Health Techs are supportive and willing to work with you. If you’re a reliable employee, show up on time, and do your job well, they generally give you flexibility and listen to your preferences when it comes to assignments and scheduling.

The facility is usually hiring, and while it’s not a difficult place to get hired, it’s definitely not a job for everyone. It takes patience, adaptability, and a genuine desire to work with people. If you’re only looking for an easy paycheck, this probably isn’t the right fit. But if you enjoy helping others and can handle a fast-paced, unpredictable environment, it can be extremely rewarding.

They’ve also been understanding when it comes to time-off requests and personal situations, as long as you communicate with them ahead of time. Overall, I genuinely enjoy coming to work, which is something I never thought I’d say. The job has its challenges, but I love what I do and the opportunity to make a positive impact on people’s lives.

I worked there for almost a year after getting fired for something that was beyond my control. To find out that it was that I was apart of a group that they had been trying to get out. While on the I was on the unit the team I was on was amazing. My coworkers were the best part of the job. We were raved on by state and corporate that with us on the unit that number of patient crisis episodes had drastically declined. I and many others had been injured by patients on the clock and our safety was last priority. One time I was injured pretty bad and the supervisor didn’t even offer  I go home. They took me to the office handed me an incident report and told me that I need to turn it in before I clocked out. Then proceeded to tell me to go back to my unit. My coworkers were more accommodating than the supervisors or even any of the administrators. If you don’t go over the building to play patty cake with them you hardly even seem them. I don’t recommend anyone work there the pay is differently not worth it. Ive heard of people working extra shifts for bonus and then they get pulled last minute for things that they never even said was a condition..

The hiring process was very unorganized from the beginning and HR was seldom available to answer questions, and didn’t return calls. Initially told I would rarely need to pass medications as RN, but this quickly changed. I began to realize I was little more than a pill pusher to a never ending line of drug seeking patients, and most were ordered hefty cocktails of narcotics and benzos despite being there for addiction. If a patients insurance reached the max days allowed for inpatient treatment, they were discharged regardless if they had improved or not. Child/Adolescent unit is coed with teens and much younger children all housed together, sometimes with inadequate staffing to ensure safety. Lack of cameras in their rooms created problems with staff restraining pt’s in their dorm room so nurses/staff wouldn’t have to document incident. Always expected to do more, with less and no regard for anyone’s safety. You’re not learning anything, and really are not making any kind of meaningful difference for anyone. You will lose valuable nursing skills working here and be absolutely miserable. 

You do not want to work here!!! Human Resource gets you in the door and then it’s downhill from there. Administration pretends to care for staff and makes promises they don’t keep. If you communicate with these ruthless people make sure you do it through email. They will act as if the conversation never happened. Your offer letter does not include the additional duties assigned. Do not volunteer to cross train!!! It literally becomes your job and the help never comes nor the training. Training is a joke and you have new staff training which they don’t know the ends and outs. The ones that know refuse to help because of job security. Funny story there is no job security. This place will replace you in a heartbeat. It also, sets you up for failure and mistreatment. FTEs is always discussed during their flash meetings on how to cutback staff to save money. They don’t follow the patient to staff ratio. It’s dangerous and administration doesn’t care and will continue to admit patients regardless if not staffed adequately. The majority of the staff is burnt out and rude. 

They treat their employees like trash and morale is very low. Depending on if management likes, they can fire you for any small infraction.  If the management like you, you can do no harm. Very negative work environment. Always about census and money that they forget the real purpose: the patient. We are told this is a business, for profit. We are not a hospital. Patients stay until their insurance is depleted.  Most patients are on medicaid, they come in and out like a revolving door.  The building is falling down.  There is so many violent patients that are destructive.  If a patient attacks a staff (which happens frequently), the staff gets in trouble/fired.  We have active Covid patients, but we do not test other patients or admits.  We also do not let admits know that we have Covid patients.  We are investigated by the state all the time.  Low pay, short-staffed, paper charting

What is the best part of working at the company?
There are a few great people that really work hard and care for the patients each and every day. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The corporate model prioritizes cash flow and profits before quality care or properly hiring credentialed or licensed personnel. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Hostile, toxic and cut throat.   There is a sense of fake teamwork through the hospital. Leadership contribute to rumors about teammates and other leaders.  Subordinates feel comfortable coming to certain leaders to spread false information without repercussions. . 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Chaos and turbulence each day.  The patients are expected to act the way they do, they are sick and need help.  But the leadership could ever seem to be in the same page.  Directors always fighting over control of programming schedules or personnel.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s several people scattered throughout the hospital who do truly care. But, they're supervised and overseen by folks who don’t and are perfectly happy to show you the door as they’re welcoming in the next new employee orientation group. Money is everything and it’s terribly misspent. Daily catered lunches for management across the street in the new building, but there’s not enough staff on the floor to allow for lunch breaks. Unsafe staffing ratios. Med errors galore. You put your heart in and are left disillusioned and disheartened. Each new employee brings energy for a while until they too start “drowning at the River.” It could be so much better, but everything is blamed on corporate, yet the Joint Commission came in and wrecked shop on local practices! If you value your license and don’t want to file safe harbor paperwork regularly, work somewhere else.

In 2017, the hospital received negative reviews by state auditors and the joint commission and had to completely fix all aspects of the findings.  The staff worked overtime correcting and at times pencil whipping documentation by direction of management and corporate office.  Once the hospital was cleared by the sanctioning bodies, management layed off or fired at least half of the case managers and nurses.......the same staff that worked overtime to get them through the audit.
The turn over in staff is ridiculous; management is focused on warehousing patients versus treatment.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Registered nurse 1 salary reported	$35.00 per hour
Licensed vocational nurse 9 salaries reported	$22.11 per hour
Mental health therapist 6 salaries reported	$28.00 per hour
Nurse 5 salaries reported	$26.46 per hour
Admissions specialist 5 salaries reported	$25.50 per hour

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