licensed practical nurse

home health aide

nursing assistant

receptionist

dining room server

SALMON Health and Retirement

~ At SALMON's senior living and healthcare communities I served as the preparation cook for on, or about one and a half years. During that time I had heard talk of, and seen company memos be disbursed to the employees with talk of "hope for hitting the Forbes top 100 places to work."

~ SALMON's senior living and healthcare communities goal of being a desirable place to work is far from being that way, perhaps years to decades. I started at Salmon's with a two year degree, eight Honorable years served, and perusing a four year degree. And I was started at $9.35/hr, in the amount of a year I managed to bumped up to $9.85/hr; mind you minimum wage for 2015 in MA is $9.00/hr, please, do the math. I feel as the cap for medicare hasn't gone up in years, and this facility supports medicare, that their rates won't be going up any time soon.

~ On a normal basis the Willows kitchen administrators condoned and promoted a hostile work environment, dishes thrown by head chefs, the executive chefs seems to have pro-fain, "out-of-hand" and inexcusable leadership styles making for a but of a hostile environment. 

~ On n numerous occasions (other than the required footwear) I found clothing expenditures being deducted without my condoning, or for that matter, knowledge. On another occasion I had six hours taken from the agreed upon forty hours with Human Resources, as landscaping didn't provide steady winter work. When I approached the executive chef (JB) about the reduction in the agreed upon, and very much so needed hours I was told "so what, you're at thirty-six hours a week, that satisfies full time." I have a wife, three kids, full-time university and I am a combat veteran; Salmon, you should be ashamed of your work conditions. 

~ Pass this place up....

A typical day at work begins with preparing for the evening service. Starts from creating seating charts, checking employees in, ensuring proficient work is being done before, during, and after service. The night ends with completing paper work and charging residents for their meals. Then closing the dinning room and kitchen for the night. 

I have learned how to properly manage a large group of people in a fast pace environment while also completing my daily tasks. I have also learned how to communicate with and manage different professionals involved with the dinning service ranging from cooks, servers, and other management positions. 

The workplace culture is a enjoyable but professional place. It is a high quality establishment that runs on hard work in a community of people made up of both the employees and the residents. 

The hardest challenge with this position is ensuring everyone shows up for their shift, and then finding others to cover shifts when people do not show up. 

The most enjoyable part of the job is working with such great people. Everyone is caring and very helpful in a time of need. It is very much a team and family oriented community that I work with.

Residents are some of the nicest people here, but none of your work will really be appreciated by management. Going out of your way to help people just will just leave you getting stabbed in the back. There were chunks of time where I worked for a couple of weeks w/o a break/worked 6 days a week multiple weeks because we have no help and I felt bad for the residents but no one seemed to care. Prepare to get burnt out and taken advantage of and have tasks that shouldn't even be assigned to you piled on to what you are already doing. God forbid anyone gives you an updated job description so you can, ya know, know what you are supposed to do? Met a couple good staff and the people who live there are great but I would not recommend working here unless you want your mental health to go down the drain/be in therapy for the stress this place will cause you. Need more staff who generally care about the residents and more managers who actually know how to manage

Salmon is a great company to work for. Especially if you just starting your career in healthcare. Each campus is beautifully designed and is filled with genuine and caring staff. You will go far if you put the effort in. 
Base pay is somewhat of an issue. Otherwise the company offers competitive benefits. Working with elders is extremely rewarding. Even if you are not providing direct care you have the opportunity to make lasting friendships and relationships with Salmon's residents. The work requires a high level of patience and determination. Management styles are varied (as with any employer). Most interactions are positive and supportive. This company does not want to set employees up to fail.
You'll get back exactly what you put in.

A typical day at work for me was learning and having fun with the children as well as teaching and growing with them. I learned how to have patience and got a better understanding of how the young mind works. The management for this company was OK. There were times when there was no director or an unbalanced director. However the children were never affected by this because the staff held it together and worked as a team. My co-workers were always awesome to work with. Most days everyone was happy and consistently smiling, helping other teachers, and willing to jump in for another teacher at any time. Id say the hardest part of being a preschool teacher is trying to avoid a personal relationship with each individual child. The most enjoyable part of my job was knowing I impacted a child's life in a positive way each day.

I had been with Salmon Hospice for 4 years and what was an amazing team was destroyed in less than 6 months due to poor management, inexperienced people in management positions, and greed. People don't leave jobs, they leave managers. The executive director is incredibly passive aggressive and only cares about productivity and money. Cutting corners and patient care wherever possible. The hospice director was hardly ever heard from. And the clinical manager had less than 3 years of nursing experience and did not even know the guidelines for someone to qualify for hospice. When 6 of your 8 case managers walk in less than 2 months from each other you need to reevaluate your practices. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Work/life balance is excellent. Manager committed to a manageable workload and time off as requested. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Limited resources for equipment and supplies, and communication between departments around roles and responsibilities at times. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Small enough for management to make decisions and adjustments quickly when needed. Excellent community reputation so steady admissions and steady work. Multi cultural staff serves needs of wide population and enriched the working experience.

I've been here for over 20 years... so many of us have grown up here... with SALMON helping with free education and support.  

We work hard and it is appreciated - by Residents and management.

Good pay, great benefits!  They are more flexible and supportive than they have been in the past. 

I look forward to going to work... I work with wonderful people caring for wonderful Residents and their families.

I go home at night feeling like I've done a good job - that's a big deal.

Working for SALMON has provided me with many opportunities for growth and knowledge within the nursing field. I am responsible for providing care to patients with different diagnoses. Working for this type of environment opened me to many opportunities for growth and knowledge, and it is an experience I am grateful for. The demands for care at times, seem impossible, but with the support of the staff, and supervisors, we all manage to provide great care to the patients. I enjoy working with the patients, and providing education to family members.  I trained at Salmon and started in dining services as a server.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The people that I worked with were very nice. The facility was brand new, well designed and served well the community.  The place was also close to home.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
No computerized documenting system.  Communication with some of the on-site management.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Assisted Living, Long-Term Care, Memory Support.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Not sure, I worked nights 8 hr. shifts 11 pm - 7 am, E/O/W and E/O/H.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Licensed practical nurse 36 salaries reported	$35.93 per hour
Home health aide 24 salaries reported	$21.36 per hour
Nursing assistant 9 salaries reported	$21.94 per hour
Receptionist 18 salaries reported	$16.67 per hour
Dining room server 15 salaries reported	$16.58 per hour

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