nursing assistant

front desk agent

licensed practical nurse

server

line cook

Terwilliger Plaza

After working very hard, being available, never missed a day of work, gave up part of my personal life to cover last minute call ins and no show employees some were allowed to be hours late to there shifts and still remain working? Very unfair to responsible employees like myself who had to be in standby coverage was terrible with sub par staffing management and vacant senior management who could not even say hello to you in the hallways or elevator making culture and morale hidden behind closed doors and lots of gossip and favoritism (I.e. they have a woman who works in the Metcalf as a nurse/aid? who has to use a walker would wobble about and bark orders at new employees treating them like subordinates and allowed to sit down and do nothing most of shift that’s been there many years because she’s friends with the ceo.) Unfortunately the work culture lacks lustre when mean spirited staff/ management and upper management turns a blind eye to good hard working caregivers and in-home workers as cattle or disposable unless you “play the game”The budget is being saved for a new building? Employees wages is way to low for the volume of work and at night shift charge nurse has to cover the whole complex so they are not available in several capacities when needed half the time. Some senior night-shift caregivers would spend half their shift outside smoking so new caregivers would find themselves trying to assist the whole floor by themselves and some equipment like the pagers and radios working half the time or short supply. 
Lots of flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants scenarios.
To many good-ole-boy upper management deception and the food served to the members was as low gradelike cafeteria food. Some clients/members were treated better than others because they had money. Lots of money invested building and the company seems more interested in real estate than its employees who are doing most of the work. 
Upper management vacant leaving early, showing up later most of the time and even takes 3 day weekends quite a lot. I finally had to quit!

I’ve been in the senior living field for quite a while now, and there are problems inherent in the industry that I accept.  You will see a lot of comments about these issues in the other reviews for Terwilliger Plaza, such as low wages, burn out, high turnover, poor communication from management, favoritism, etc.  But you can find these in all fields.  There are also pluses, such as friendly coworkers, helping seniors, and feeling a sense of purpose, and with TP there are also some decent perks.  What I have not encountered before, and what made me leave after 14 months at a job I liked, was the fact that management does not take staff safety and security seriously.
 
Intruders on campus are a regular occurrence at this facility.  And if you work at the front desk, in maintenance, or janitorial services, you will – no matter what the management says – be a de facto security guard. And if you work the evening shift when there’s a skeleton crew, that part of the job gets more problematic.  My frustration is further compounded by the fact that management refuses to take suggested steps to mitigate this problem, steps that would literally cost them no money.  It’s perplexing.
 
If you are considering interviewing or taking a job here, I strongly urge you to take this fact into consideration

Terwilliger Plaza was my first 'real' HR job. I began as an HR Intern in 2017, got offered a full-time HR Administrative Assistant/Coordinator position, and shortly after, was promoted to HR Generalist. I stayed with the company for two years. During my time there, we went through several changes: process/structure change, people and culture change, etc. The turnover rate is a bit high in the health services and dining services department, but when compared to the retirement industry, it is actually a lot lower than others! We have a fantastic management team that genuinely cares about the staff. TP also has an amazing 401k retirement plan. If you are looking for a company that will help you grow and develop, TP is the right place to be! They offer paid training and certifications, scholarships, tuition reimbursement, etc. TP is currently growing right now which is a very exciting time to join the team! The only downside of working there is that there will not be a parking lot for employees, however, a TriMet annual hop card is given to every staff. I have enjoyed my time with TP and will miss each and every one of them. TP was like my second family! I wish TP nothing but the best and look forward to watching them grow!

What is the best part of working at the company?
I appreciate my time working with the staff and coworkers. I am grateful for the opportunity and experience. Everyone I had and encounter with was pleasant and the staff was so grateful. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The hiring and terminations. Be sure to keep a paper trail. Always for documentation for any personal paper work that involves you and ask questions. Always ask questions. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
I was hired as a part time front desk receptionist and the team was nice. The job was super easy. Too easy. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Arriving and starting my check list. There was a lot of sitting around doing nothing. I worked the night shift and never understood why two people were needed up front. I don't feel comfortable just sitting around at work and there was a lot of that for all front desk staff.

A day in the life of working with the dining staff can be both fun and exhausting. 
When entering the shift, the majority of the staff is refreshed and ready to start the day. 
It does, however, go down hill mid day when a lack of communication between management and staff causes an unhappy member to waltz into the dining room. 

Overall I feel that Terwilliger plaza is a place surrounded by amazingly KIND members, a staff that works well together as a cohesive group, and provides a stable work place for you to grow as an employee. 

It lacks proper management training and organized communication between events and staff.

The worst part about this job is the careless management. They are very scattered and uncaring, practice favoritism/nepotism in hiring, and are dishonest about temp policy. Everyone is very nice but when you feel firsthand how their lack of dedication to making it a professional and secure environment for employees affects you, you want to leave. There was virtually no training, all of which was done by other employees who barely had time to train. Members were all really nice however and I never had any issues there. Medical emergencies happen and are stressful, but it is something you need to expect with an aging community. I regret that I had to leave when my hours were completely cut, but I need money to live unfortunately! I will miss the coworkers I met and members I chatted with every day while there.

long hours .
good for someone who likes to work hard.
Ally is a in house department which does private care, Hospice and companionship.
The plaza has three departments which I have been trained and have worked in all areas and my managers told me I was very valuable to their company since I have multiple skill sets and have worked as part time over 50 hours per week.
The area of dementia and self directed care is very challenging due to the mental distorted concepts of many of the members we care for.
The hardest part of the job is dealing with death and the families.
The job is enjoyable due to all the variations of care and my ability to bring creativity to the hospice department by extending care to compassion and looking for patients interest to help feel the gap of 12-16 hours when I am working one on one.  .

I have worked for the Plaza for just over a year and couldn't be more happier!  I am so impressed by the team of talent they have assembled.  Management and the Members truly care about the staff.  They are always striving to ensure staff receive fair and competitive wages.  The nurses and caregivers are top-notch, work well as a team, and support each other.  People take pride in their work and it shows.  Of course, the Members are the best part - they truly appreciate the hardworking staff and demonstrate their gratitude daily.  The location is also a perk - close to PSU, downtown and numerous public transportation options.  The free annual bus pass provided as an employee perk is a nice addition to an already great benefits package.  Overall, I feel lucky to work here!

A great work environment, pleasant co workers and wonderful residents for the most part. A very chill place to work if you don't mind sitting around for a couple hours every day. Main complaint is that there is very little managerial communication to the low tier workers. I've missed meetings, and repeated work because my managers didn't make an effort to let everyone know. Poor planning skills, constantly understaffed with a very high turnover rate specifically in EVS and housekeeping. Most equipment and machinery are not maintained, most doesn't work or is faulty. Very little solving of problems, a strong tendency to shove problems off on someone else instead of putting in the work to figure out a solution. Overall a not very good place to work unless you don't care about anything other than being there. 

Good, clean environment to work in, it really is a 5 star building and in a great neighborhood. Amazing views of downtown, we used to have access to the cafeteria downstairs at half off but with COVID in place now I am not sure, all in all great coworkers, but do realize if you are a CNA you will be working with Alzheimer patients and that requires a lot of mental and physical stamina. So make sure your back and core are solid otherwise you may get injuries. Terwilliger also has a lot of employee benefits for classes, mental health, and a very open-door feel to dealing with management and HR, company culture is pretty good.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Nursing assistant 12 salaries reported	$22.50 per hour
Front desk agent 8 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Licensed practical nurse 6 salaries reported	$40.00 per hour
Server 7 salaries reported	$19.79 per hour
Line cook 4 salaries reported	$20.75 per hour

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