therapist

licensed practical nurse

nursing assistant

cook

admissions manager

Tower Behavioral Health

This facility is a beautiful facility on outside, but the actual reality is very different. Management is a significant issue and it is run very poorly. Many times management is unsure what to do in behavioral or medical situations. A lot of the slack is left up to the staff who work on the units. BHAs are treated very poorly at the facility. They do not have voice or say in what occurs in the hospital. There concerns aren't taken seriously, and brushed off by management. Understaffing is also another major issue at this facility. They continue to open new units before there is enough staff ready to work on the units. This is especially concerning during behavioral codes as we do not have enough people to handle them. It is especially notorious during the weekends. There is barely any management to consult with when things get out of control. Management is never around to lend a hand, but they still push unrealistic expectations on their staff.  There have been many situations where staff have been hurt and injured while on the job, and management sent them back to the same unit the next day. There is no compassion for the people who put in so many hours trying to improve the lives for people going through a mental crisis.

Rules and behavioral plans are implemented by nursing managers that the staff on the unit follow, but they do not abide by their own care plans so they can have an easy shift. The staff implement structure on the unit and have rules that are followed, however they make the rules as they go. This ends up causing situations where problems have occurred due to nurse managers not following their own rules they set for the unit. They try to set new rules, but they rarely work on the unit to justify such rules. One nurse manager constantly looks down on the staff. She doesn't make her presence known on the units she is responsible for, and has not build a trusting and professional relationship with the staff on each unit. She has shown that the needs of the staff are not of her concern.

It doesn't matter how much of your time you provide to this place. They are never satisfied with what we do. If you are sick or have an emergency, they will question why you are calling off and belittle you for doing so. They will also try to force you to work another day to make up your call off. They have ridiculous expectations, and have little to no compassion about the needs of their staff. This facility is not equipped to handle half of the things that walk through their doors. They are more concerned about the image they present to the community rather than the well-being of their staff.  So many good employees have walked away from this job due to the inconsistency, lack of compassion, and hostility experienced at this hospital. Nurses, BHAs, housekeeping, dietary, maintenance, security, social work, therapist, and doctors have all experienced all of the negative qualities that Tower Behavioral Health has to offer.

Please understand that actual staff who work on each unit are wonderful, but they are held down by the lack of support from management. Tower behavioral Health can be a great place but they need a lot of fixing for that to happen anytime soon. Their reputation is more important than the care they provide to their patients.

If you work for tower as a therapist, here is what you can expect:
They are not flexible in the schedule. They do not care about your personal needs. FMLA is required for any and all requests other than using PTO.
The sick time / PTO is one pool of 2 weeks per year. You will get sick working with the patients which leaves very little vacation time.
The burn out rate is high. The turnover is high. 
The gossip is horrendous. This includes between therapists, therapy offices, management, and between the units. 
I have made some friends. Some can be trusted. Some I love. 
I enjoy doing groups. I excel at it. I enjoy mood and personality disorders. I excel at it. 
I have a drawer for organizing my groups for easy retrieval later. 
My group skills are not being utilized. I am not put in positions that honor or grow my skills. I am put where I am needed for the hospital day after day, week after week. I have a home unit, but I do most of my groups off of that unit. The quality of the groups is not monitored or recognized. No one cares if I am happy or doing a good job. No one cares if I am making a difference. The only thing that matters is the numbers. The numbers translate to dollar signs. 
Last year I received a 2.69% raise.
This year I received a 2.5% raise. These are much lower than natural inflation. There was no explanation for why these are so low. 
Concerns on the unit are listened to but never addressed.
I do not feel heard. 
I do not feel seen. 
The environment is sick. The environment is toxic. It is a factory for therapists. Each cog in the system does not have value other than to keep the system running.
When I leave, I will take my experiences with me, with gratitude. I met a lot of neat people, and I learned a lot about grit, resilience, growth, and relationships. But this is not a long-term job you can enjoy without poisoning your mind. 

a typical day involves a LOT of autonomy and problem-solving. there was significant freedom in how you structured your work, which allowed for creativity and growth but also meant largely leaning "on the go" with LIMITED formal guidance. i learned a tremendous amount through hands-on experience, clinical decision-making, and trial-and-error -- mostly d/t having NO clear treatment model in place. while this accelerated learning, it was not always the safest or the most supportive way to develop clinically. 

management was a major challenge. leadership often felt disconnected from the realities of eating disorder care (which showed up on the eating disorder unit as well as other psych units) and the intensity of high-acuity psych situations. support during crisis was inconsistent, and higher-level staff did not always understand the complexities of eating disorders or the demands placed on frontline dietitians. 

the workplace culture among coworkers was the strongest part of the job. coworkers were compassionate, hardworking, and deeply invested in patient care! we all truly wanted to help and support each other when possible. however the facility itself could feel unsafe at times d/t limited staffing and support. 

the hardest part of the job was the chronic burnout. work was rarely left at work, i never left on time, and the emotional/mental load often followed me home. the most enjoyable part was the 1:1 patient care (building relationships and making a real difference in patients lives was incredibly meaningful and the reason many of us stayed as long as we did). 

This place has gotten progressively worse since I've started. Incredibly understaffed at all times with a constant revolving door of people. Management will tell and do anything to get you to stay past your shift. No security at times, and you are expected to take free beatdowns. Will underplay the physical abuse the staff endures for their image. No one is on the same page, ever. Management and administration is nonexistent. They will expect you to deal with most situations on your own. Bonuses are terrible and they will try their very best to get people in before offering these abysmal bonuses. Supervisors are forced to work the floors due to understaffing. At night, management will try and offer disrespectful bonuses to nurses if they have to work the floor without a coassign nurse, and the only offer these bonuses to those that actually speak up against their terrible practices. Working weekends is a nightmare most times. There is no upper management in the building other than a supervisor and nurse practitioner on-call over the weekend. This place is a complete mess and will use the excuse of being a "newer" facility to justify everything that is wrong with this place. The facility is new and clean, but it's not worth the stress, abuse, and risk you will endure. Beware.

I put in a lot of thought and consideration prior to applying for employment at Tower Behavioral Health.  I had been working in another psychiatric facility where I was fairly happy but knew I needed change.  At my previous facility, I did not feel I had a lot of opportunity for career growth.  I spoke with a few nurses who worked at Tower Behavioral Health, and they encouraged me to apply.  Applying to TBH was the best career choice I have ever made.  I have worked in multiple different mental health settings as an RN and this is BY FAR the best facility I have ever seen.  This new facility has the best features for someone struggling with a mental illness.  Safety is number one! There are plenty of safe areas for patient leisure and activity.  Each unit has it's own courtyard where the patients enjoy going outside regularly.  As an RN at TBH, I have been shown support by, not only my direct supervisor, but the entire administrative staff.  We are recognized when we do a great job and frequently told how much we are appreciated.  There is always opportunity for career growth.  I have been blessed with a promotion.  This confirms that hard work at this facility does not go unnoticed!  

My time at Tower Behavioral Health has been a overall frustrating experience. It is very obvious to see how much the hospital puts their financial gain over the needs of their patients. They have no respect for their employees, or care for the patients at the facility. When staff comes up with suggestions, they are never taken seriously. It is only with the looming threat of a possible union that management wants come in and meet with their employees. Now we are forced into ridiculous meetings daily. They pull people from units for these meetings and leave the units more understaffed than they were prior. They place patients on 1 to 1s knowing that the patient has a tool to harm themself or others. Instead of handling the situation at hand, they will beat around the bush until a problem becomes out of control. The lack of awareness and care by management is alarming and disappointing. If management would take the feedback from their staff seriously, then we could possibly see improvements in the care provided at Tower Behavioral Health. Instead we are belittled, gaslighted, and seen as disposable once we try to create change. You will not find fulfillment from working in a setting such as this. 

The hardest part of the job is dealing with the patients needs and crisis while being severely understaff.  A unit will divided into two hallways with only two staff. Many times, co-workers do not want to pull their weight and want the same people to do the most undesirable task. Nurses do not care about anything and they just sit there, while BHA do everything. There is no communication about patient care only gossip. The most enjoyable part is learning new skills and learning how a mental health hospital works. Management is the worst. They are worry about popularity than actually professionalism. I had a manager call me because a co-worker complain that I call them by their legal name, as stated in the assignment sheet. Supervisors also have a habit of calling your previous employers, and using the previous employers's complaints against you in present times. I should had sue them. Even Human Resources are friends with BHA's. Extremely unprofessional place, disorganized, and a plain mess.

A typical day at work as a BHA begins with standing around to see what duties you're going to perform. The nurses do no delegated responsibility to anyone, the aha are the bosses. Sometimes you have to do 15-minutes checks for 2-hours while the other co-workers never do patients check, so the duties are unbalance and unfair. It's all about who are the nurses and managers's favorites. Managers like to bully some bha for not obeying other bha. It is better to not stand up for yourself and just stay quiet. The nurses are nonexistent, no teamwork, and it's abusive workplace culture. The hardest part of the job is the 12-hours and only 30-min. unpaid break. Co-workers do not know how to communicate effectively and with professionalism. They are just ghetto and rude.
The good things are the patients, learning new skills, and the options to buy food from the cafeteria.

The work is definitely straightforward & easy, but the work environment was definitely hostile & very much high school like. As well as the physical risk that comes with this job. At this job I did nothing but mind my business, do my work, & help patients as advised, & coworkers would do nothing but gossip regardless. About their coworkers, even about the patients. Lots of clique culture. The people here are so unprofessional it’s astounding. Management is a mess, if you need help with something or have any questions, expect to go through hoops trying to get answers for simple issues. The pay? Horrible. Not worth it for what comes with this job, at all. I give this company an extra star for work life balance though, as I did only work 3 days a week here. Still would not recommend, value yourself, your time, & your money & find a better job if you can.  

A typical work day is started with a large caseload. I am grateful for the experience I have gained from helping patients, but management and co-workers made it unbearable. Often given a large workload outside of your pay grade and expected to do it or you would be reprimanded. If you didn’t have a degree you were quickly dismissed, even if you had years of experience. The workplace culture was borderline depressing. Co-workers were just outright nasty to eachother. If you had a difference of opinion they would do all they could to alienate you. Management was also unbearable. If you go to HR with an issue they will immediately reach out to your supervisor and director. So basically nothing is confidential. Some management is burnt out you can and depending on your director they will pick favorites, which makes things even harder. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Therapist 5 salaries reported	$29.90 per hour
Licensed practical nurse 4 salaries reported	$28.06 per hour
Nursing assistant 8 salaries reported	$18.50 per hour
Cook 8 salaries reported	$17.00 per hour
Admissions manager 1 salary reported	$33.00 per hour

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