caregiver

medication aide

cook

server

housekeeper

Sinceri Senior Living

I only worked at Winterberry Heights for 5 days, and even that was too long.  After having been laid off by my previous employer, I accepted a position here to tide me over while I waited to hear back regarding a significantly better job working for the State of Maine DHHS that I had interviewed for a couple of weeks earlier.  Thankfully, I did end up receiving an offer for the state job during my first week working at Winterberry, so I was able to quit this nightmare of a job.  I am so grateful because I NEVER would have lasted here.  This place pulled a total bait and switch on me.  I was hired to be a "lead CRMA" and was told that I would be doing strictly CRMA duties and nothing else.  They told me that they wanted someone with my experience to help them fix all of the problems and issues that they had been having with medications not being properly dispensed to their residents and to help supervise the other CRMAs. They made it sound like I was going to be in a leadership type of role, which I was all for doing and was actually excited about.  Well, that turned out to be a blatant lie.  On my very first day here, they threw me right in with basically no training and had me washing dishes, wiping butts, doing lift assists, and feeding people.  They essentially had me performing CNA duties.  Don't get me wrong; the residents were all very nice and sweet, but this was NOT what I was hired for.  I felt like a glorified servant.  On top of that, I was expected to get 2 carts worth of medications out on time by myself while simultaneously performing all of these other tasks.  I was so busy that I didn't get any breaks during my entire shift and had no time to eat.  I don't think I sat down even once during my entire 8-hour shift.   I also quickly found that if you ever need help with anything or have any questions, don't expect to find anyone in management who is willing or able to help or answer any of your questions.  They are, for the most part, completely useless.  However, to be fair, I am fairly certain that a majority of the people in management here are new as well seeing as how they have an extremely high staff turnover and can't seem to keep anybody for very long.  The fact that they hired me right on the spot  during my interview and wanted me to start the very next day should have been my first red flag.  That just proves how desperately they need people because of their high turnover.  After working here for just a few days, I can absolutely see why.  They just can't keep anybody in these horrific working conditions.  It's no wonder nobody wants to work at this facility.  

To make matters even worse, I am now fighting with them to get paid for the week that I did work there.  They keep telling me that my check was mailed on Friday (it is now Wednesday) and I have yet to receive it, so they clearly are playing games and are trying to withhold my pay.  I live only 10 minutes away from Winterberry, so there is absolutely NO way it should take this long to arrive.  I suspect they are upset that I got a much better job and left after only a week.  If I do not receive my check by Friday, I will be reporting them to the State of Maine Department of Labor, which I have made clear to them.  This is beyond ridiculous and unacceptable, not to mention illegal.  If you are considering a position at Winterberry Heights, please, take my advice and DON'T DO IT!  You'd be MUCH better off just about anywhere else!

I found that Grossmont Gardens is good for people that are in a bind, they provide hours certainly but the amount of work one does in a day is staggering to say the least. On a normal day, working in any of the dining rooms one can serve upwards to about 50-60 residents whom may have dietary restrictions or require highly specific menu items. While the expectation is that all of the dining rooms are to provide the same experience and quality of service, the circumstances in each dining room are specific in their own way.

I learned there that often the best way to deal with the problem is to find solutions and make it work or to explain why some type of menu item or action can not be taken. That being said more often than not the residents will be understanding of whatever plight there may be but as a Dining Services Assistant we should do everything in our power to meet the standards of the resident and provide them with what they ask for. But that can be difficult because of...

The Management. Management in all of the different departments appear to be working in completely different world in terms of what they require to deal with. There is sort of an odd back and forth that goes on with the different department heads and at times on some occasions they can appear to be helpful to one another but more often than not it feels like they are competing to show how the other department is failing compared to their's. This causes a lot of friction and for the people working for said departments it causes a lot of confusion and also worry.

Continuing on to how the Workplace culture factors, Grossmont Gardens is a retirement facility, where people go to live likely the rest of their lives and settle down. Because of this the range of ages for people living there compared to those that are working at the facility is quite expansive.

The hardest part of the job is dealing with residents dying and finding out that the person you have been working for for a while, is no longer with the living. There are many times when people you see and serve every day could no longer be coming down either because they passed on or they moved to another facility or a whole host of other reasons. The need to be able to serve but also not be complete emotionally attached to the residents is a needed lesson to learn. But...

The most enjoyable part of the job is the people that you come to learn about and know. Being able to remember the residents and have them remember you, ask you how you are doing and have this dynamic where you build rapport with so many people is an endearing and empowering experience. If one chooses to work at Grossmont Gardens I caution that having a big heart is a most certain requirement.

a typical day starts out amazing, I'm excited to see the residents, were going to have a blast. everyone of them give me either a kiss, hug or high five. they all say they love me and have missed me on my days off. it fills me with so much joy and happiness. They are so grateful and happy just to be alive. I have learned to experience life to the fullest each second of the day because you never know when the good lord is going to take you away, either by death or by Alzheimer's...
Hmmm the management... I have never worked with so many rude, unwilling to listen, understand, not able to resolve simple yet very important issues with no concern of the abilities or worth or value of their employees. With thee very worst attitudes, negative outlooks and do not see any reason for improvement. Actions and words implying... If you don't like it then leave, or we will write you up and more than likely replace you. the employee turnover is so high I don't even know half of the staffs names.
The hardest part of the job...there are many.. witnessing sweet residents being left alone for hours,scared and sometimes crying, being mistreated is so hard I have to leave the building to pull myself back together. leaving for the night when one of them is begging for your help, just wanting anyone to talk to. getting written up for doing so and by not clocking out on time. No communication between management and staff. so poorly run with a whatever attitude.
Easily by far the absolute best part of the job is making the residents smile, laugh, make friends with eachother.to know you are truly making a huge difference in the lives of people who have either served our country, raised children with moral,standards and integrity. all who have contributed so much and have lost it all. to distract them from bad, sad thoughts by singing, dancing, playing games, listening to their life stories and sharing your own life with them. to let them know they are still very valuable and we need them to teach us about life thru their experiences. they still have the wisdom of very important things.they are still important people and they must know that. I love knowing I am making their lives a bit better, a lot happier and a whole lot less lonelier just by being there for them. they know I care and love each and every one of them,

A typical day here is being short staffed and expected to help out on top of your job requirements and pick up where the management lacks. They over work you and expect you to feel 100%. I learned that i love the residents and that they don’t deserve the treatment here. The amount of times i here caregivers that are super burnt out say they wish they could put certain residents in their wheel chairs and push them into traffic. Management here is absolute garbage. They expect you to do their job on top of your job and pay you basically pennys. All they are is power hungry. They don’t understand that if residents don’t want to participate they wont. They don’t understand any form of a break. If breaks weren’t mandatory you wouldn’t get one. Workplace culture is if you’re not a manager you’re less then. They post signs saying they appreciate you but the talk you hear coming from their office begs to differ. managers don’t pick up call offs they force one or two people to work the floor by themselves which in turn makes residents in need wait longer and the RAs to get frustrated. The hardest part of the job is to see the RAs being short staffed and the management just talking and fooling around in their office or them just leaving because they don’t want to be their. The only thing I enjoyed about this job was the residents and their family. I work in Activities, Caregiving, and kitchen. I helped where ever they needed because that’s the kind of person I am. And they still treat me that absolute trash and when I put my 2 weeks in they treated me like an absolute disgrace and tried to put me down as non-rehirable all because i had a job promotion come up at my second job which i had to get because even though they say you can get Over time they take it away and refuse to let you work overtime. They say you get free meals but you don’t the head chef throws it all away before anyone gets a chance and is extremely temperamental  he’s either smiling or throwing things and cussing.

Competitive wages in the area. CNAs do not make enough though. Hence, my rating.
My coworkers are overall on the moderately more dramatic side, but not too terrible. More like ppl vent a lot to each other, not “gossip” or “bad mouth” ppl too much.
The workload and day to day tasks are appropriately assigned and not overloading ppl or holding irrational expectations.
The management is kind of a hot topic for ppl. Personally I see management having unrealistic expectations about ppl “living to work” instead of the reality that most are there “working to live.”
I would like to point out that this facility has a LOT of ppl who care about the residents. I love that about this place. Been to several other facilities and few have this high of a population of legitimately caring ppl where the residents well being comes first. Any little drama or spat has never, as far as I’ve seen thus far, caused a resident to suffer or not get the appropriate care.
I’m not sure how to address what I’ve learned. Seems a little arbitrary. But personally, I’ve learned that it’s possible for people to bicker and still work together. Honestly, I always say that “I'm not here for drama, I’m here for the residents and to make their last days have meaning and enjoyment and for them to feel loved and cared about.” That’s why we should be there and I try to demonstrate that and spread that mentality. I ask myself, if someone was taking care of my parents or grandparents or whoever, would I be ok seeing them get the kind of care I’m providing for my residents. It’s important to have accountability and integrity in this field. Especially with this fragile ppl. They shaped the world we now live in. Good or bad, that’s significant and deserving of respect.
To me this is a very important job. It’s really our responsibility to give the best care possible to our seniors. Helping them maintain dignity and as much independence as possible, to me, is such an honor. I don’t take it lightly and I like to think I’m not alone in that.
Sorry to ramble on. I’m just a little passionate about my job.

Typical day at work is pulling into the parking lot to see that we're either understaffed with caregivers because call out, no shows or poor scheduling.

I've learned the that this company is more towards filling the census with anyone that is willing to pay the bill for their family member to be here rather than people that are actually are in need of memory care. Also that more more towards the money aspect than the care aspect when taking a new residence as well as only Staffing for the amount of residence rather than the type of care that's needed.

As for management I've been here for a few years and besides losing managers and hiring news one in the different departments that they're all on top of what they need to do seeing as the administrator tells them that if they stay on budget and also keep the hours within their departments from going over that he gets a bonus but from all the time here management has no perks and no matter what department that their from they're also overworked but are always in good spirits and show up to their jobs because they show they care for our residents.

Workplace culture I'm not sure I understand but a majority of our staff seems like there more towards making friends than being here to care for residents.

The hardest part of the job is seeing in this company or at least the building that I work in is more towards taking people in for the money rather than the care that's needed and that there's no real how to put a appreciation for those who actually show hard work continue to show up day after day even when some mornings that for 52 residence we will have 1-3 caregivers.

Id  say the best part of the job is the residents! being able to interact and  learn about their lives and being also being able to assist them with what they need or want so that  maybe I am going to make their day better or just at least right in the moment that you're there with them!

The most difficult part of this job is not getting upset over those that do not complete their job for the day.  Routine things are overlooked - correctly made beds, trash pick up, new towels which means I must take up the slack and that gives me less time with residents.

Second is not being heard.  No matter whom you speak with you will be rebuffed or made aware that whatever you knew was already known or told the same story from the listeners experience.  Never a thing like, 'thank you for noticing."  There are no thanks here.  The art of chatter flourishes but listening fails.   VErY SELDOM will a shift nurse or anyone else say thank you as you leave.  But we should not notice these things because you are just a grunt.

We are supposed to be a team but a team needs a leader not a dictator and a team needs heart.  We all have heart for residents.  Lastly it is such hard work with such little reward and no encouragement provided that it is no wonder new people use the revolving door.  They know if they apply here they will be hired and get started on the paperwork they will need to work a place that pays more money and attention. Here there are favorites and they seem to take advantage of that situation.  

Everyone on evening shift has been hurt, some worse than others, moving clients that are unable to assist in any way; some kept quiet because we are just not strong enough to do what is asked.  Also the staff is afraid to answer YES to "were you hurt at work today?" on the time cards because of repercussions. This is also why most refuse to answer your surveys and when they do they are not truthful. 

The general feeling is get enough experience to move someplace else that pays better and will help their staff feel good about themselves and where they work together.  I heard a rumor that the new hires are getting more starting pay than we old timers (1.5 yrs) are getting currently.  (Most of us have never had a substantial raise).  Really not good for morale.

The supervisors here are cruel, selfish and poorly trained in leadership and organizational skills. The nurses and kitchen staff are lazy, and do not care about the residents living here. The communication between departments and between supervisors was one of the worst parts of the job so often people would get in trouble for things that weren’t their fault just because of communication and the supervisors would not take accountability for their own mistakes and instead blame it on their employees.

The other worst part of working here is that they overwork their employees in harsh working conditions for the same amount of pay of anything else minimal wage. As a kitchen staff you often work in kitchens with no AC while being understaffed. The supervisors will try to make one person do the job of three under a time limit and often there was so much work there was no time for a break. The nurses are also understaffed and have to overcompensate too. This is all part of the company saving money by mistreating their employees and residents.

I also would not recommend anyone putting their beloved family members in this retirement home residents because of understaffed, lazy and/or poorly trained supervisors get less than fair treatment and service. On multiple accounts I have seen kitchen staff serve residents food with known allergens/ dietary restrictions the residents cards clearly state to avoid. Nurses have said this has often made residents very sick. The quality of the food served diet or not is very unappetizing on top of all this and sometimes looks and smells no better than dog food. 
So unless this sounds like a pleasant work environment, work in retail, fast food or at a grocery store instead.

There're ups and downs as they're at every work place. I been a CNA for 10 years, I been working here for 3 years. A typical day for a night shift is to do laundry most of the night, clean up,  and do rounds not to bad. This place ain't hard to work at it's a beautiful place and has great potential. They teach you alot in depth about alzheimer and dementia  which I found really helpful.Management through out the whole building always seem lost , always seem stressed, seems like they have to much on their work load or doing to much they shouldn't be doing.  Sad to say we have had a really high rate of turnover since we been open in these 3 years. The hardest part about this job I would have to say is mental draining dealing with altimeter patents. Other than that they hire non CNA or teens with no experience that make it hard to work with. They seem to call off alot or just dont care because they're young with no worries.  I also feel like those that been loyal to the company as like myself .I been working here 3 years always picking up extra shifts to help out , always attending meetings, rarely call off never get appicaticated nor knowledge by the company nor the boss. This company dont offer 41k we do have benefits but they're arent the best. The best part because there are good parts. Even though the patients can be mentally draining physical they're fairly easy to care for which makes this place easy to work at. Patients ratio isnt to bad when fully staffed or when you are working with a great crew. We do get annual raises  for myself I'm pretty pleased with my pay. This place is good to work at if you been at long term facilities and looking for a change because those that have experienced and understand what actually hard work is would appreciate this job.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Providing customized and quality activities to  the residents , And seeing them grow and be excited about their day.  Just because they have dementia doesn't mean they are in any way cognitively challenged necessarily. I treated them as the wise and adult human beings they are, and I could feel the appreciation . That made way for wonderful interactions  and friendships.
It was very rewarding for me to see the residents eager to get into the activities room. 


What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Seeing residents in distress or physical pain being ignored by the responsible staff. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Unfortunately, no teamwork spirit. No clearly defined responsibilities for various staff. This caused unnecessary problems.
However, within my department (mc activities) we were a tight team, respectful of each other and managed MC activities successfully. When I started, only a third of the unit was occupied; by the time I departed, we had a waiting list going on.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Morning  welcome routine : greetings and songs. Rise and shine movement. Chronicle and related topic discussion. Music activity. "Brain Quest" type of activity just before lunch (A-Z, hangman, etc)
After lunch, art/craft activity. Also customized activities for individuals (puzzles, sorting/matching etc). Extensive physical activity (eg. balloon volleyball, bowling, target throwing, soccer, etc)
Tai chi type activity to relax after the physical activity, singing and dancing before dinner time

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