case manager

rehabilitation specialist

registered nurse

office assistant

facilitator

Southwest Network

My time at SWN was amongst my very first jobs out of college. Having long wanted to help people and a degree in social work, I was stoked to get hired at SWN on Bell road in Arizona. Close to home and decent pay, double score! My enthusiasm quickly waned on day 3 when caught in the crossfire of what I just knew was a recipient having a very bad day. Ranting and raving, despite there being multiple family members of my new clients around the corner. I wondered to myself why no mentors or employees were trying to diffuse the situation, being new, I certainly wasn't on board. I went on a break (thank God) in the midst of the "show". Upon return, one of my new coworkers joked they were surprised I returned as apparently my fear was all on my face. I inquired if this recipient was on our "team". I didn't want to rub her the wrong way, but asked if she typically allowed recipients to "vent" (a nice way to phrase it). Surprisingly, my new coworker giggled and asked who had hired me or if I'd made the intro rounds.  I explained having initially been recruited for a team on the ground floor, under supervision of the site Doctor. I'd met him briefly (office front -n- center by the mail room if memory serves). I relayed having felt comfortable and seemed to be a cat I'd be able to work for. My new "informant" encouraged me to find whoever interviewed me to see why I'd been switched upstairs. I soon learned why when she proceeded to explain the recipient having a breakdown was not a recipient, but the leader for all upstairs teams. I was both horrified and perplexed, no way, I thought. Over the subsequent weeks, the reason I was encouraged to try and move back downstairs became abundantly clear. The "tantrum" was not an isolated incident to be certain. The vibe shifted rapidly when shed storm in the area. I'm not keen on throwing even the most obnoxious ppl under a bus, but if at Bell Road office, run, don't walk if asked to work for a tall, unqualified, loud brute in the corner office! I managed to stay under the radar for my 7 months, but saw the wrath unleashed for those targeted by this rather Trumpian of leaders. SWN employs members with their own challenges, which was one of the things that impressed me initially. They work VERY hard and often "regular" employees and mentors are indistinguishable from one another. In fact, the gal that showed me the ropes and walked me off the ledge on day 3 turned out to be a mentor. Unfortunately, it was quite clear why some thrived and some often walked out of the restroom with puffy, tearful eyes. If the upstairs boss doesn't like you, for ANY reason, your life was made unbearable. While not the lone reason I left, it was a factor. After turning in my notice (dream EMT job opened up) I broke the ardent rule about trying to reason with or stick up for the coworkers in despair. I opted to wait until the main director was on-site to broach the subject with her, which quickly became clear was an awful idea. Rather than discretion, I was soon face to face with the loud woman. I've probably ranted long enough on this topic, but suffice it to say I was very glad to have an exit plan in place before attempting to address the very darkest aspect of this otherwise decent starter gig. I did enjoy the m-f hours, experience gained, PTO and collaborative environment, but as they say... a few bad apples...

A typical day is one in which the previous day's task must have been addressed or you will ind yourself lost. There is a limited amount of resources that one can draw upon to secure assistance for the most complex needs of clients. The company adheres to a CFT model but limits itself in securing in home direct providers to meet these needs. At times the stress level raises to a breaking point and those who have limited experience may find themselves either skipping steps to get the minimal down or leaving. The company is experiencing an extraordinary high level of turnover at the point, from executive leadership down to office support personal. Suggestions for change are listened to but rarely implemented. The peoplel most passionate about the work they do are not attached to the job they fulfill. These changes have been subtle but sinisterly crept in after several high level positions were changed over the last 18 months. I feel there is favoritism shown to those who, for what ever reason, say the right things at the right times, as opposed to those who have demonstrated long term loyalty and the ability to be integral parts of solutions to enhance clinical outcomes. While many may admit the reason they leave any position is because of lack of advancement or lack of rapport with management, my reasaon for seeking a new opportunity it because the Southwest Network and my cultural values are no longer aligned. After making attempts to assist in changing processes, only to have ideas languish or not implemented, I understand it is not me, but the company who has chosen a new direction for growth. I can not live with that new direction - my moral compass is unable to locate it in my trajectory of life. 
A typical day includes rapid and continuous attention paid to crisis situations, many of which are replicative and have not additional resources to solve the real problem, antiquated electronic systems that create redundancy want are time consuming. The best part of this job is attempting to teach and nurture newcomers to the professions and attempting to help them find a true work life balance, despite the inequity of the corporate structure and the overwhelming need of our clients, A day becomes exhilarating when we discover tat a youth has actuality made it through and it thriving.
The day of a clinical director, who wants to start each day with as many previous tasks accomplished averages 10-12 hours and the CDis also responsible for being able to on call crisis situations for 3 months at a time. The company offered no merit increases last year, although they were able to aquire a controversial behavioral health system of out state, where the majority of executive leadership now work out of. This makes many staff feel they are "own their own" in trying to tackle, resolve, or just plan survive the issues at our parent company. The stress and mess have led to a number of excellent staff doing the wrong things to capture units, which me is the most disheartening aspect of where the company has taken itself. We are no longer a company of people service people, but more of a corporate compampany with the mantra to encounter no matter the cost.

The management is primarily focused on PRODUCTIVITY and were not supportive at all. We had so many people leave immediately after getting fired because of the lack of training they received, support, and guidance from our manager. Our manager would load us up with so many case loads sometimes above the amount we should have because of everyone leaving. I had advocated my needs that with X cases would not allow me to be competent and provide the same quality of service to my clients. My manager continued to push more for me to take more. Many people on our team were getting mixed advice from our manager on how to approach a situation or client. In addition, the new hires shared being extremely confused to what is expected of them. I did not feel heard by my manager and often felt my ideas were shut down. I had a peer of mine who would strongly advocate for her clients' needs through various ideas but was shut down by the management. Management was actively writing her up to push her out of the agency. The actual role was amazing and a needed one! However, I don't think I would ever return to this role with this management. The pay was also lower than expected and promotions were harder to obtain from what I have heard.

The management at Southwest Network - Garden Lakes is excellent.  They are very supportive and understand that "life happens" to all of us, and employees get "kudos" for doing a job well.

A typical day of work for an Office Assistant (OA), is answering phones, checking members in and out, pulling member's charts for appointments, and then filing the charts at the end of the day.  

The OA also must let the doctor and/or nurse know when a member comes in for an appointment, and usually will need to call the case manager to relay information, or request they come to the lobby for a "face-to-face."

An OA must also go through numerous faxes received each day and make certain each one is routed to the correct area.

The co-workers work as a team and actually consider themselves a family.

The hardest part of the job is trying to get work done while answering a great many phone calls.

The most enjoyable part of the job is the "camaraderie" we have during the day.  It helps the work to go quicker, if not easier.

Working with the recipients is wonderful! The problem is, each day we're supposed to get progress notes typed in. This can be difficult because it's an open environment (village model) with many disruptions throughout the day and it's difficult to maintain focus. My co-workers are great. The management, not so great. It seems as though there is an "Us (management) against them (employees)" attitude. It's horrible! It seems that employees are walking on eggshells all the time. The environment is so toxic that it effects home life because there is the constant gnawing in the back of my mind..."when am I going to be written up?" To be honest, the environment at my clinic is rather hostile. I would report to HR but then there will be retaliation. I'm sure the company spends a lot of money on training dollars. 

Looking to get out as soon as possible.

Southwest Networks business model is to provide services to the SMI population. In theory, to enhance the lives of those struggling. Unfortunately, I've spent many years in the behavioral Health field and Southwest Network takes the cake in dogmatic and oppressive environments. It is a wonderful opportunity to provide support services to the disadvantaged, but at great cost to the psyche of employees. The insane employee turn-over is evidence of this. After many fulfilling years in this industry, Southwest Network left me disheartened and in search of a new career field. A sad contradiction of its intended role in the community. Blind loyalty, no opinion and a willingness to forgo personal ethics is the recipe for success for Southwest Network.

Honestly, this was the worst experience while employed as a nurse in my career. The atmosphere is cut throat, many times I witnessed coworkers turning in other coworkers they did not like as a form of retaliation. One case manager was written up for racism due to using the term yuppie, just one of many ridiculous examples of the HR department at SWN. The animosity between departments at times was suffocating, many power struggles and unqualified case management supervisors. I can not, in good conscious, recommend this company under any circumstances for employment whether it is for nursing or case management. If the receptionist paged a case manager overhead that admin was holding on the line for them, we always knew that employee was about to be fired. It was very humiliating for them, in my opinion. By the time I resigned from SWN I was completely mortified at the treatment of employees by administration, it was and probably still is a toxic place to work.

Worked with behavioral health recipients to assist them with achieving benefits.  I learned about Social Security benefits.  I learned about working with a mentally ill population.  

My direct supervisor and the regional director were phenominal, but outside of them, I wasn't impressed.  I didn't feel that the administrative team was really understanding where the clinic employees were coming from - People were afraid to give Administration our feedback for fear of getting into trouble.  The population at the clinic where I worked was very demanding and stressful. 

I had wonderful coworkers.

Working with the population my clinic served and getting encounters in was the hardest to handle.  

The best part of the job was my co-workers and when I actually helped someone who truly needed it.  Seeing the relief in their faces was entirely worth it.

I give work/life balance 3 stars because self-care is what you do for yourself, not what the company does for you. In a way, the company makes you leave the work at work when you go home because they do anything to avoid you working overtime (even when horribly understaffed). However, because there are often not enough hours in the day to get everything done, you often go home worried about making your deadlines. Management is not supportive of clinical staff and admin cannot seem to recall what direct service of recipients is actually like. It should be a sign that their model "clinic on a hill" has the highest turnover rate and second lowest client satisfaction rating, but is praised all the time because it ranks highest in completed documentation.

I love the clinic i work at and my management is decent. It used to be wonderful, but a few changes have unfortunately made the environment at my clinic less than desirable, but it is still a place I enjoy working. The administration is very detached from the clinic, I feel they do not understand or appreciate the work we do at the clinic level. Compared to the other PNO clinics I feel SWN is the least appreciative of their staff as shown by minimal pay increases, no bonuses, no fun activities, and no presence in the clinics. I love working in behavioral health and helping adult clients with mental illness, I also love supervising my team and being able to make effective change in them which is why I continue my employment with SWN.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Case manager 40 salaries reported	$22.44 per hour
Rehabilitation specialist 6 salaries reported	$23.71 per hour
Registered nurse 6 salaries reported	$34.48 per hour
Office assistant 6 salaries reported	$18.33 per hour
Facilitator 2 salaries reported	$22.00 per hour

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