Nursing home diaries

Working at a certain nursing home, just before coming to this one, I was hired as the Social Work Director for a small corporate owned place just outside of Indianapolis.  

I knew that Social Workers are the thorn in the nursing home administrators' sides, a necessary evil to them because the federal government requires we exist there and after having worked for several over the years I am familiar with the terrible offices they stick us in.  They always find an out of the way, small, no windows room and then if you have an assistant, or two, they cram so many desks in there that we can barely move.  Well this particular one took the cake.  It was a closet, yes, literally a closet complete with big water pipes running up the wall, taking up more space, no assistant but a book case taking up half the floor space and so small I had to move my office chair to the corner because if it was in front of my desk, you were blocked out, the chair would block the door.  No window, and no place for any residents or their family members to sit and discuss anything with you.  Just once I had an office with a window.  Most of them didn't even have working air conditioning in 98 degree plus weather. 

Well, I also found out that Social Work Director included: Admissions Coordinator, Discharge Coordinator and Marketer.  This place was too cheap to hire any of those titles so it was shoved onto the Social Worker.  Well as far as Marketer goes, a good marketing person is supposed to be out of their office at least 80% of the time.  Nursing homes are not only a billion dollar business, it's a highly competitive one as well.  How in hell a Social Worker can manage to be out of the office doing marketing for 80% of the time is humanly impossible.

The nursing home industry is not the only corporations I have worked for in my time.  I have also worked for a huge, child daycare, well known, chain that treats children like so much cattle and parents even worse.  But more on that one another time.  I would definitely rethink any big chain daycare for my child if I were you.  The care in those places is no better nor safer than the small places.  Just saying. 

This is my ode to the cheap corporations of America that cannot hire more titles yet line their pockets with the monies from the elderly population.  Here's a drink to you oh Cheapskates!  

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