licensed practical nurse

nursing assistant

registered nurse

cook

occupational therapist

Stellar Senior Living

This feeling of enjoying the folks I work with started before the buyout by Stellar from Brookdale in June of 2019. For 90+% of the folks I work with, I truly like and respect them. I love the people I care for. Since the buyout from Brookdale, this "Family" operation has done nothing but chip away at morale, jack hammered benefits and use fancy lawyers and wording to avoid paying people for the hours we actually work. 

Holiday pay is is a fantasy. Brookdale paid you for 8 hours period. IF you work that day then for those 8 hours it was effectively double time. Beyond that, it was at least regular time and I believe time and 1/2. Now they have all these convoluted ways to NOT pay you for working the holiday. One guy "Jordon" told me personally that the premium (time and 1/2) for working the holiday only happened if you worked less than 40 hours that week. It COMPLETELY contradicts the employee manual we were given. It takes months of complaints to get "someone" to retroactively pay for those hours. 

Hey Stellar, it's really simple. IF you work a holiday between midnight to midnight, then PAY US the time and 1/2. 3 Holidays I have worked. Two I worked over 12 hours and got ZERO. Nothing but headache. After this last holiday, I recently told my boss that I would no longer work any holiday schedule that included any shift that would end between 0001 and 2359 on a holiday or start on the holiday. Tired of fighting. Tired of being promised the moon and the only stars I see are when I get punched in the eye. No 401K as promised. Screwed up online payroll system. Inability to effect any change. A mass exodus that has cost us most of the senior staff, including the Executive Director, ADON, Social Worker, PT folks and the list goes on. 

The CNA's regularly get paid bonuses for working extra shifts, coming in early or staying late. I have never received one dime of extra compensation for such things. One time I was asked to come in to cover. I was 1.5 hours from home. I drove home to get my uniform, turn around, drive an hour back and work that shift, I was not offered a penny of incentive other that the exasperated thank you of the DON for not making her stay for that shift. The number of times I have been called in early, stayed late, or simply come in at the expense of time with family or plans has been far too many. Just today I had to stay late to cover for another person. Stuff happens, I get it. But if you are going to offer incentives to one group, then offer it to all who go above and beyond. 

Here is a concept. How about raises for the staff that DO what it takes to make this place stay afloat. Stop dancing around legal double speak and STOP taking any resident with a pulse, regardless of their acuity level. Put a NURSE into that decision process instead of a bean counter. When one resident takes up an entire person for a shift, that takes away our ability to care for all the other folks.  DO THE MATH. That however is another diatribe all together. 

Moved to PRN position to take a travel job in order to complete my degree. Coming back I received a ridiculously biased eval that included 3 months I was not there. Management did nothing. Looking for local job, willing to take less rather than work in an environment that is toxic for more than a few days a month. 

Don't bother going there, unless you like low pay, long hours, unappreciative management and constant turmoil between staff.

Stellar has many fantastic employees and, for the most part, just about everyone at my facility seemed like they enjoyed their jobs and loved being there…. On a surface level.
The workload is manageable when everyone does what they’re supposed to, but management is a big fan of picking and choosing who has to work their tail off and who can work overnights but sleep in the nurse’s station for 6 hours out of their 8 hour shift (specifically at BEAR CREEK SENIOR LIVING). Also, which QMAPs are allowed to step off the floor for 30 minutes to an hour just to gossip in the office with the HWD and HWC.
They’ll give you your lunch, but they won’t give you a simple 10 minute break when you need one. The residents are fantastic, the coworkers on your level are phenomenal. I’ve never worked somewhere that genuinely took the time to make sure their employees were adequately trained but I cannot and will not work for people who are covert mean girls in the workplace. It’s insane that you’ll ask management how you can improve or if there’s anything they feel you need to work on, and they’ll tell you “no” to your face but run their mouth about you to the other employees who are, again, on the same level as you.
I hope you don’t have bills to pay or a family to feed, because managers will allow someone to take week long vacations and then give your hours to said someone because they realized they would be short on cash for that pay period. But when you actively ask for more hours, they disperse them elsewhere to their favorite employees.
Be careful who you trust, with the monetary incentives management and family advisors receive for our census it’s a dog eat dog business. They don’t actually care about you as a  person and will steamroll whoever they need to in order to advance. Truthfully, the residents are the only reason as to what made it so hard to leave my position.
Also, their benefits are poor at best. $200 every paycheck for subpar coverage is so unrealistic that you probably won’t even have the money to cover your copays. After benefits and taxes, working a minimum of 40 hours per week, I was only bringing home $900 biweekly.

I will say this though; if you genuinely have an emergency you need to tend to, the HWD and HWC will step up to the plate to cover the remainder of your shift.

working here had its ups and downs. management was definitely incompetent. they really showed that they didn't care for their employees. there was a lot of retaliation, finger pointing and complaining. but when i came into being a CNA i was warned that management was going to pay their CNAs low wages and pay themselves high wages and not care about you at all. i knew there would be a high turn over rate being a CNA but i didn't think being a veteran there would mean you worked there for 9 months. the only reason why i'm giving them two stars is because working with the residents was why i love my job. going to work wasn't a dread i had even if the resident loved to finger paint with his own feces it didn't matter. i cleaned him up the best i could cleaned everything i could and went home knowing i did some good. even if the management didn't see that or care how hard i worked. i know i can go to my next job and hold my head up high and say i was a good employee i just wasn't a good fit for them. if you do work here know that the management doesn't care how hard you work or how good of an employee you are. but you don't come into work for them you come into work to take care of the residents. but don't plan on working there for very long. use it as a temporary job. work there while you try to find a job where you want to work or try to find a better paying job. but definitely don't expect to be a long term worker there. you get hired on to somewhere thinking you would be part of the family when your not. when your just another cheap labor who can be replaced when things get inconvenient. so in conclusion work here only temporarily and only work here to take care of the residents. don't expect to be here for very long because they'll find a reason to get rid of you if they see you make a mistake.

The company claims to care about employees but any concerns or problems that you have with your position or coworkers is met with passive aggressive hostility and dismissal. Management is biased towards directors and lets them get away with things regular employees could not. As an employee, not having a robotically cheerful attitude at all times is enough for management to have a meeting with you regardless or actual performance or results. We were very encouraged to never discuss work related issues to our coworkers sometimes even outside of work. They have a policy where you can’t say “that’s not my job” if given a task outside of your job responsibilities. If you are a younger worker you are shown very little respect by older management and you skills will be undermined. They are quick to threaten or hand out punishment to regular employees but it takes weeks of complaints from countless staff for consequences to be given to managers who perform terribly. You are not encouraged to have an opinion on the work or how it’s being done and any suggestions you may have to improve the process will not be taken as seriously if you are not a manager or director. Will cut hours or let go of people without warning due to budget constraints. Workers there are fantastic people and deserve much better treatment and respect from the top down.

Upper management wont hire more than the minimum necessary to get the job done. Marketing is much more important because they bring in more live and paying bodies. For how many residents need taking care of it's ridiculous. (Ask about ratios cnas:residents) The job would be so much more pleasant with another half shift or even a half hour overlap to update the next people. Instead everyone is looking to get out asap and looking to swap shifts to avoid burnout. 
This lands heavily on nurses who unfortunately then assume any appointments or illnesses are to avoid work.
Coworkers are mostly nice, but equally overworked. They have bonuses for shifts that aren't filled but the money goes up as the date gets closer. This means picking up shifts early and being a good coworker means you'll get paid less. In fact working part time but picking up extra shift would easily make more money than commiting to full time. Forget about swapping a shift without coughing up extra money. They offer official training and education but can't do the minimum onboarding to get people used to their job. After 6 months you can get the hang of it but before that you'll have to interrupt other busy people for everything, how to do your daily paperwork, where anything is kept, which of the residents notes to disregard... It feels a bit like hazing by neglect and no one expects new people to stick around until they've passed month 3. 
Make sure to get sign on bonuses guaranteed on paper.

Management is extremely lazy. They have been in Management positions for so long they seem to have forgotten the reason they are there. Always out taking numerous breaks to go smoke. Not very approachable because they seemed to be in a bad mood. It was disappointing to see them act as if they are too good to help out when we were Short Staffed. Never expected anyone to do their Resident Cares. But there are many things that can be done to help out Residents and Staff. People seem to forget we work in their home. We all are there for one reason and that is to take care of the Residents who live there. Passing Ice Water or helping with Meal Orders etc. Makes a huge difference for the Residents and the CNAs who are the back bone to Assisted Living Facilities. It would be interesting to see what would happen if CNAw  They deserve alot more appreciation for the hard work they do. Trust me CNAs deserve to be paid alot more for what we do.  And the Residents deserve to be very well taken care of. It's a difficult Job but very rewarding as well. A little Recognition and Appreciation should be given to all staff by all Management. In the Daily Sentinel La Villa got 2 out 5 stars. It's too bad because it has the potential to be alot better but not with the Management that manages it.

Cherrelyn was not the greatest place to work. There used to be a lot of tension in the air that was picked up by the visitors, residents and employees. This was caused by the way the former Administrator ran things. He did not make it a place that you felt good about coming to work. That has changed with the new Administrator. Everybody seems to me more relaxed in their jobs and don't feel like they have to look over their shoulders every minute. A typical day at work for me is answering phones and greeting guests and vendors. Also includes computer work and assisting other departments. The best part of my job is the residents! I love them! I learn a lot from them! My co-workers are great. We work well together and are always willing to help each other. We are close as co-workers and friends. The problem with this company is that there really is no room for advancement and the pay. Receiving an increase in pay is not possible even for the nursing staff which is lower than majority of other places in the industry. Benefits are too expensive! Medical, Dental, Hearing....Horrible. I have been there a long time and even now cant even afford the benefits they offer. I have to say that the worst part of my job is when we lose a resident. Always makes me sad.

I worked there for a year. I worked every shift (even prn) and both sides. My main shift was 2-10pm on the memory care side. The only reason I stayed so long was because I highly respected my boss and coworkers. My boss left and with her...many of my coworkers. 
Thats when it was no longer worth being short staffed all the time, management not caring about us, 12.75 per hour (with no room for growth), and of course the ware of being a CNA. There were days that one other person and I would be responsible for 30 residents. Changing, feeding, meds, showers, activities, the works. Eventually I was written up for using PTO (which was approved in advance) and thats what broke me.
I heard that they finally allow you to wear scrubs rather then the polo and khakis I was required to wear. Its still not worth it. There was a time when a potential resident was visiting the memory care side. He had behavioral problems. During a behavior he threw a piano bench at the staff and I. After that incident we were assured that he would not move in until those problems were under control. They lied. He moved in like a week later as scheduled.  
I would not recommend working there. You are treated like dirt. Especially if you work on the memory care side and ESPECIALLY if you work in the kitchen. My mental health took a big hit from that work environment. 

My typical days at La Villa included tending to residents needs; socially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I learned about life, death, love, family, unity, team work, wisdom, and the importance of compassionate care daily. The management has a particularly hard time managing because they are in constant meetings and do circles  trying to adhere to rules that more often then not contradict themselves. I witnessed unfair punishment for the just, and rewards for the hateful. People would be rewarded for being the bosses favorite, and the hard working veterans where often persecuted. 
I hope they become a non smoking facility because many people abuse the privilege. Moral is constantly low or fluctuating based on the high turnover rate. I strongly believe that money is put before the rights of the residents to receive decent care. The hardest part of my job was seeing residents who where completely dependent being ignored or forgotten about by there families and my co-workers. The most enjoyable part was the respect and admiration the residents showed for every individual who showed true compassion and had fun with them. I served them with my time and energy. They returned honor and wisdom and most importantly love.

A typical day included patient assignments.  Patient assessments.  Participating in a morning meeting.  Touching base with physicians and other practitioners involving patient care.  Teaching of skills to new nurses.  Discharge planning.  Organizing care with other interdisciplinary team members.  Including and educating patient and family members on care and any changes occurring.

I learned a multitude about the necessity of teamwork.  I grew in my ability to provide excellent bedside manner.  I was able to learn a huge variety on various disease processes.  

Management had a variety of team members and various work styles.  I learned approach each accordingly.

The workplace culture puts the patient first and I enjoyed that aspect.  The team is incredibly friendly.

The hardest part of the job was the excessive patient acuity at times.

The most enjoyable part of the job was working side by side with the medical director and the amount of information and technique I learned from him.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Licensed practical nurse 67 salaries reported	$31.35 per hour
Nursing assistant 30 salaries reported	$20.27 per hour
Registered nurse 27 salaries reported	$41.17 per hour
Cook 1 salary reported	$18.00 per hour
Occupational therapist 49 salaries reported	$46.68 per hour

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