registered nurse

licensed practical nurse

mental health technician

therapist

registered nurse - operating room

The Meadows Psychiatric Center

The Meadows has a history of running as a business, prioritizing lining their wallets over patient care and employee wellbeing. CEOs come and go like clockwork, each one worse than the last. 

Units are understaffed by including staff who don't step onto the floor in the patient/staff ratio. You'll be left alone on an acute (dangerous) unit with up to 20 patients by yourself. And if you get hurt, HR will blame you and get mad when doctors prohibit you from working. And because the charge nurses are overworked and there's only one of them per unit, you'll be deemed an inconvenience when you ask questions. 

Patients are understandably frustrated with the lack of treatment and group therapy that's supposed to happen, and have frequent bursts of aggression and running away. It's just simply a dangerous work environment, and you'll be paid to be a punching bag. 

Even though this is a valuable experience for those who want to get into psychiatric nursing or behavioral health, the facility runs in such a prehistoric way, and there are better facilities in the area from which to gain experience. Go to Strawberry Fields or UPMC. But don't go here. And don't send anyone here if you can help it. 

The pay and benefits are pretty solid, but now so many other companies are starting at $15/hr which is above the $14/hr starting rate at The Meadows (if you don't have a degree, $16/hr with). It's also nice as a full time employee only having to work 3, 12 hour shifts. And I really liked my coworkers. But ultimately the danger and contributing to a facility like this lead me to leave. 

I worked here per diem for a little over a year. There are some challenges with working at any psych facility-the conditions can be dangerous and stressful. The Meadows does a pretty good job of doing training for self defense and restraint but I do feel heartbroken for the patients who have no training and get targeted by aggressive ones. However, I understand that this is standard. My problem is that management often fired staff with no notice for very miniscule infractions. I suspect that UHS wants to keep payroll small, and because they get so many Penn State applicants they can afford to fire a lot. There are often only a few staff on the unit at a time and staff end up extremely busy. It’s typically difficult to give patients the attention they need. Very few techs have worked here longer than a few years because turnover is so high. Also, staff were often forced to pay for therapeutic activities/decorations/etc. out of pocket. The staff that do work here are mostly very helpful and supportive, and there is a great team environment. If you’re the type of person that can compartmentalize the stress of the position and you need experience it’s a good job but not a long-term thing at all.

I love my job as a tech here. There are downsides to every job. But this job is very fulfilling for the right person. And it definitely takes the right kind of person to work here. Things are what you make them to be. The pay is good. I love the hours, you can choose to do 5 eight hour shifts or 3 twelve hour shifts. There's almost always the opportunity for overtime. I enjoy working with the patients and most of my coworkers. Yes, it can be an intense job and sometimes dangerous but most jobs are anyway. I've met a lot of great people here and it sucks to see so many bad reviews. Some of them aren't even true. If you're a good person who doesn't mind hard work and doesn't get offended easily and can deal with tough situations, this is a decent place to work. Don't believe everything you read. I have some of the best coworkers I've ever had here. That includes other techs, nurses and we have a couple of really awesome supervisors here. You can definitely point out who truly cares for the patients and who doesn't, that can be hard to deal with. But I feel the pros outweigh the cons. 

Work is very fast-paced & can be stressful day to day, but also can be a very rewarding environment. Most employees love their jobs working with psychiatric patients & work well together as a team, but there is little to no support from management. Communication between management & direct care employees is disjointed at best. Issues & Complaints voiced by staff often seem to be brushed aside and not handled promptly or at all. Benefits & PTO accumulation is good, but the facility is chronically short staffed & obtaining days off is rare and requests to use PTO are frequently denied. Pay is some of the lowest in the industry for all staff types. Honestly, direct care staff are not appreciated by management or owners. The staff that remain working there are some of the most caring and compassionate people, but are very undervalued by the current management and directors.

Management was terrible- positions were given to people unfairly without considering other (more) qualified candidates. Most employees in the Clinical Department don't last a full year, which speaks for itself. Even management positions aren't held for very long. Many people see this is a resting place, because forming a career out of this job would be impossible.

There is no support for employees and a lack of supervision both clinically and administratively. When employees reach out for assistance with tasks, they're accused of improper time management. Claims were made such as "if you're not working 80 hours a week, you're doing it wrong." There was far too much demanded of the job and no support to get it all done.

Paperwork is out of control and will consume most of your time.

I learned a lot about myself as a clinician and about working with psychiatric patients but in the end, I was burnt out from a lack of support/impossible demands.

A typical day at work would begin when you are dispatched to a crisis either at the hospital, or at the consumer's residence. Once you get there, you must to do a mental health assessment, and determine if the client needs in-patient or not. If the client needs in patient and they are at the ER, then you are responsible for a bed search and pre-certification. This could take up to four hours.
If the emergency call is at a customer's residence and requires police intervention is when there is not enough training about what can be done or not according to PA laws. If anything goes wrong during the call, you are held a hundred percent accountable and could be fired on the spot. Many times there are no cell phone services and you could be in the middle of the night and by yourself.

This is the toughest job you'll ever love if you got what it takes to be empathetic with people with severe mental health issues who are at rock bottom. This is honestly the best company I have ever worked for because of the teamwork and the management. This is not a job for people who believe they are entitled to a paycheck simply because they show up and sit on their behinds.  You are gonna work, you are gonna work hard, and you are gonna learn something you had no idea how to do because there is no way to prepare for this work. This being said, being part of a successful recovery is an honor and a privilege and fills my heart with joy. I love my work and my job. Be open to criticism: it takes time to learn to do this job and management will bend over backwards to help you out as long as you do three things: show up on time, do your best and be kind.

The work environment is horrible, they have no care for their employees. You are just another body/number to them that they can replace. The higher up management is shady and two faced. They care only about the money in the long run and not even really about the patients… oh but they DO CARE about the number of beds they have full each day!! If you want a life outside of work or a job that will work with you DONT choose here… but if you want to be burnt out worked until your death and a possible stab to the back from higher up management then this is a great choice! Turn over is 100% HIGH because they for sure DONT CARE about their employees. But they will do a REALLY REALLY good job at putting on show for you to make it look like they do! 

Pros

Pay is great, especially with incentive. I average well over 25 an hour most shifts 

Most staff that work on the units are pleasant and are able to work as a team effectively, I have made many long lasting friendships through this job 

Decent PTO/Benefits 

Tons of overtime 
Cons 

Units are extremely dangerous, if you’re not a “veteran” to inpatient psych 

lack of on the job training 

They will fire you and replace you, be aware of favoritism and retaliatory termination 

Acute facility but floors are not staffed to ratio and there are situations where you will be “stranded” with agitated patients 

Admin does little to improve patient and staff safety; simply just want to fill a bed. 

2.5/5, pay and coworkers made it worth it. Good job if you’re young and consider yourself an adrenaline junkie




There is a reason this place has a bad reputation, the environment is hostile, the turnover is massive, and management turns a blind eye to the unethical things that go on. This facility is one of the worst places I have ever worked. The interim CEO is incompetent and unprofessional. They only care about money and not patient care. The CEO refused to close down a room that was infested with bed bugs because closing that room would lose money. So she allowed adolescent patients to be admitted to that room knowing it was heavily infested with bed bugs. If you are a nurse, look elsewhere. This place is not worth it. They are constantly short staffed and will work you to death.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Registered nurse 2 salaries reported	$49.25 per hour
Licensed practical nurse 3 salaries reported	$29.01 per hour
Mental health technician 1 salary reported	$53,500 per year
Therapist 2 salaries reported	$21.75 per hour
Registered nurse - operating room 8 salaries reported	$39.50 per hour

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