Personal Care Assistant | Portland, OR | Apr 13, 2016
Clients Make it Worth It
Where to begin when there is so much to say?
The pay is bad, for what you do. In the "training" your job description and the tasks you can and frequently will do, takes up an entire page. You essentially need to be a taxi driver, a chef, a delivery boy/girl, a friend, a confidant, a pet sitter, a housekeeper, a secretary, AND a personal caregiver, among other things. The people doing one of most these other jobs makes more.
The benefits are bad and just recently offered, but that's kind of a more widespread issue right now...
They'll compensate you for miles on the job, but when they ask you to go somewhere that's 10 or 15 miles from home for a three hour shift, that mileage really should be compensated because otherwise you spend more on gas and wear and tear on your vehicle.
A lot of offered shifts are 3 or 4 hours long. To get full time hours that way, you need gaps for driving time as well. So even IF you manage to get up to 40 hours, you make have to work 11 hour days just to get 8.
Some of the management is rude and I've also heard this complaint multiple times from patients and families as well.
I guess the end to my rant is that the training is a joke. Our yearly bit of required training can all be done online. Nothing wrong with online education, but a lot of caregiving skills are best learned hands on and a lot of different clients like things a particular way, but there isn't training for individual clients. Even those that don't need much in t
ProsThe Clients
ConsPoor pay, terrible (only recently added) benefits, no compensation for driving, poor hours, most management rude, inconsistency, bad training
It’s not a good company to work for they cheat u out of your money if u don’t pay attention to your pay check ...
I worked for RAH FOR A ONE YEAR AT A LITTLE LADY HOUSE TOOK CARE OF HER FOR A YEAR WHEN I STARTED I work 2days a week and then the family seen I was a good worker so they want me to be there mother main caregiver Monday Thur Thursday 12 hours shift 8am.-8p.m. Off on the weekend and they had to pay me over time out of there pocket cause RAH DON’T pay overtime so that what the family did cause they didn’t want to loose cause I was a very good worker show up every day on time and did what I was supposed to do and RAH CHEAT ME OUT OF MY PAY FOR 6 months straight and didn’t want pay me what they owe me so I had get the labor board after them to get my money and I still came to work every day like I supposed to so March this year my little lady got where she couldn’t stay at home alone she keeping fallen so her daughter decided to move her to a assisted living home and so when that happened that throw me without a job and then they want me to drive over an hour and 30 mins on the other side of Tyler Texas for two or three days out of a week but they wasn’t going paying me no gas mileage and wasn’t going pay me no more money so I told them I need something close to home like they promised me when I first started with them but every since I worked for them ain’t anything been right they promised they employee things and never owned up to them so I filled my unemployment after they didn’t find me no one closed to home and when I did that I got it for one month and they denied it and t
I have over 10yrs experience as a caregiver. I’ve worked with autistic kids and adults most of my adult life. I’ve also taken care of gereatric clients in a group home setting where I was the only provider to 6 grown men, 24hrs a day 3 days a week.
With that being said, I was in between jobs and needed something to hold me over. I applied to them after my sister had left from working for them.
I’d say I worked 2 weeks for them before I had a family emergency on Labor Day weekend. I informed my manager that I wouldn’t be able to work my 9hr shift because my family comes first, period!
I explained the entire situation and the dire need for me to be able to attend to what was going on, only to receive a text a few hours later from the owner stating that “ I was still in my probationary period and missing any days , especially holidays would result in immediate termination!”
Now as someone who’s been working well over 20yrs and loves money, I understand how important showing up to work is. However , in this situation I needed to be with my family.
I was asked if I could have someone else go be with my family instead? 🤔🙄. I really couldn’t believe what I was reading. I replied no and left it at that!
The following morning I went to log into the app to check my schedule and I’d been erased. There was no sympathy or compassion for my situation.
If you want to make quick money and meet wonderful senior citizens, then by all means, Right At Home is great
Challenging work environment to meet demands of in come care and staffing
A typical day at work: began with checking voice messages left during closed business hours. Checking on care givers and hospice clients to see that the clients and care givers needs are being met. Performing intake calls to warrant if client meets requirements to receive in home care. Weekly coordinate and facilitate potential new hire orientation and screening.
I learned from this position that clients and staff require attention that must be dealt with in a timely manner, and with sensitivity.
The management staff was not a cohesive staff. The organization was marketed as a not for profit organization but the Vice President made it all about the numbers, and how much revenue could be brought in. I understood that the organization could only survive with the payments of the clients. After I left the organization I discovered that they were being investigated for embezzlement of client security deposits.
The office manager of the company was the most compassionate individual that I worked with on a daily basis. He encouraged me to do my best. We had a very cohesive working relationship.
The hardest part of the job was to experience clients who were in their hospice stage in their lives. The sadness and suffering that the client and family members were experiencing moved my heart to be compassionate and empathetic
The most enjoyable part of the job was to find comfort knowing that the clients and family members were being helped with the challeng
ProsThe pay was adequate
Consworking in an organization that marketed itself as not for profit, but functioned as a for profit organization
I have worked with Right at Home in the office for about a year now and I really have had an amazing experience. The owners are involved and they truly care and want to help the clients and employees/caregivers. It is a fair workplace and they have never not paid me. If they make a mistake with someones pay, then they fix it immediately I have saw that first hand. They have been the best employer I have ever worked with and I am truly grateful to work alongside some of the most generous and kind people I know. I have learned a lot regarding recruitment and the process in which TN hiring is done. They are by the book and follow all laws and guidelines as well. The hardest part of the job is the clientelle sometimes can be going through a hard time and they may call and take it out on you, but they just need someone to talk to and they tend to apologize within 24 hours. I also assist with the on call and that can be hard sometimes because you are home taking care of the regular needs: showering, eating, etc and you may get 4 or 5 calls through the after hours service or directly to the on call phone which can take up to an hour of your time when you were trying to eat dinner out or something. However, the owners pay generously for that and it is worth it because they keep that in mind. Whether you have a slow night or busy night they pay you the same so it helps them counteract eachother. I really enjoy being able to help people and it really makes my day when someone tells me
ProsFree Lunch on Fridays, Flexible Schedule, Competitive Pay
I was looking for a second part time job and was told I would get hours only to get hired and be told people were canceling, then was given three patients all were great and loved them however management was poor ,even told me about certain patients who didn't even pay their bill which was not my business as I didn't do the financial side, I only did the care part. when I got a 3rd patient later they would tell me I had the case only to drive that way and be told that she was canceled. No apologies, nothing. Granted I could've given my other job my availability. However when I had car trouble with oil and coolant leaking from a previous car accident and I called in only one day I was chewed out by owner. I kept my composure and stayed quiet even though I had so much to say. By the time summer came I was offered a full time position at a hospital that I used to work for before, Due to the good report that I had With 2 of my patients and their families I told the families I would stay part time with them since I would have 4 or 5 days off with a 12 hour position at the hospital. However both me and the patients were lied to by the owner as the owner said I was not returning after my week leave for hospital training. And I was told 2 patients canceled services. And I know this because both the families even called me to see if my training was over and why did I quit. When I never did. Upon calling to see when I could get scheduled again with the families I was told I would
I have cared for some lovely patients for long periods of time
I have enjoyed working with Right At Home for some time now. I have enjoyed every patient I have ever cared for. I work very hard for these sweet people but all of a sudden, their children decide they know more than the registered caregivers. In my opinion, they shouldn't be allowed to just decide to leave the program. That throws everything out of kelter. It disrupts Right at Home scheduling, it disrupts my schedule, it disrupts my income. I love the work, but I am not working for my health. This position is a supplement to my meager Social Security. I enjoy having a little extra just in case something comes up. Just recently, the daughter of my regular patient, a school teacher, has decided she "wants Mom with her for the summer". Mom hates to go to daughter's house. Wants her own bed, TV, amazing friends in her complex. I truly look a this as elder abuse. She is unhappy, she doesn't feel well, and I have NO income! Her daughter will keep her all summer until she returns to teaching in September (if Mom survives the summer). She is a cancer survivor, still taking chemotherapy oral meds, and in my opinion would be better served to be where she wants to be, well taken care of and, of course, comfortable. Right at Home has removed them as a client, and we have no way to know if they will return when school starts again. My only contact with my patient is through Facebook or texting which we both enjoy.
ProsNone, other than the friendship of my patients
ConsNo idea when your shift will be taken from Right at Home.and caregiver
No paid time off except for the state required three days sick time, I don't feel like they should get to keep any of my mileage I only get about half of what they charge for mileage, you really only get hours if you are a yes person and are willing to work the worst possible shifts imaginable, most ships are only 3 hours, I have one client I work for him 16 hours a week, so far this week they offered me three shifts during the time at which I already am on shift with a client, today they offered me a shift with a client that I specifically asked to be removed from the case, no benefits, no medical, no dental, no vision. the only thing that you get working for this company is a discount on Scrubs and whatever lame holiday gift they have. last year it was a blanket like an airplane blanket and the year before that was a laptop bag which was somewhat useful for a minute. oh and if you have a family forget all about them because they're not important the client is what's important so if you call in because your kid woken up vomiting and you have a shift that day they're going to ask you get a babysitter or if your car breaks down they'll ask you do you have another car to use, can you borrow one? these are all things that people working in the office here in Fresno right at home have said to me. no I'm sorry my family comes first and foremost before any stranger I don't care how much money you give me you tell me to get a babysitter for my kid who is throwing up and you can kiss
ConsNo benefits whatsoever client comes first you have a family who cares
Okay place to work. Management really sucks though...
Clients & families were awesome. Management was good at first but once you worked there for a while they seemed to not care for you as much. The company played favorites A LOT, you could tell management about another worker & they would just brush it off. About 6 months after I was there, they started a new 24 hour policy where if you didn't call in 24 hours prior to your shift to let them know you wouldn't be coming you got in trouble, even when I had to call out they still seemed to get irritated with me about it & I tried VERY hard not to call out unless I absolutely had to, they literally fired me over email because I had a flat tire & couldn't get to work because I only have one car & I don't know anyone up here, they said they would send me my seperation notice & they still haven't. This company let's their favorites do whatever they want and those of us who can only work certain hours because we have a family to take care of, they don't really care much about them! If you can work any shift then go for it. But if you enjoy having a set schedule so you can see your family after taking care of others & their families, don't bother with this company. Caregivers are rude, management sucks, they don't train you even though they say they will, you don't get any benefits & they don't pay for your mileage. Don't waste your time!
ProsMost of the clients were angels, weekly pay & as long as you asked for a day off 2 weeks in advance or more, they gave it to you.
ConsNo benefits, no breaks, management really didn't care about you.
Wonderful owner and company to work with!!!! Loved it!
Loved working for the owner of the Right at Home Tallahassee company! It was a start up franchise and the owner had been the president of a local branch for over many years She is awesome! Very professional, compassionate, driven, sweet, fair, has high expectations and is appreciative of all the efforts her team puts forth on a daily basis. She makes you want to do a great job which is a sign of a great leader! She would do anything necessary in the business if needed. Great business development owner, sales and marketing guru and business manager. Rare! We had a very unique opportunity to work there for her and I would still be there except I needed to move back to NC. We worked hard all day but time flew by! I learned a great deal working there that will stick with me for a long time. There was no problem we couldn't solve as a team and the owner made us feel like we were an important part of the business!! The workplace culture was awesome. I loved my office mate and we worked great together. The hardest part of the job was all the call outs and having to take calls 24/7. The team was always there to help rectify any problems but it was a little bit of an intrusion into my personal life. I think as the company grows the owner will rotate the on call responsiblility though. She's very open to new ideas. Right at Home Tallahassee rocks!
ProsAlmost every aspect of being employed there.
ConsThe only negative was being on call all the time as I had to answer the phone after hours.
Questions And Answers about Right At Home
If you were in charge, what would you do to make Right At Home a better place to work?
Asked Jul 14, 2017
Let us know if a shift cancelled as sometimes they would forget to tell us and then we end up driving to the clients house !
Answered Dec 2, 2020
If I was in charge I would double check to see if my staff and my employees are happy
That will bring me a happy and more enjoyable organization
Answered Oct 26, 2020
Would like to know hourly rate of pay for care giver and.
Asked Nov 10, 2016
They pay $18.00 a hour when they send you to work in a facility in Connecticut.
Answered Jun 26, 2021
As of 2021 At Right at Home of Salt Lake, Utah we pay in the Range between $12.50 through $16.00 an hour depending on experience, certifications, and clients. We have $12 an hour for awake Overnights and $170 for 24 hours on a Live in with a room and bed to sleep and meal breaks.
Answered Apr 28, 2021
What is the interview process like at Right At Home?
Asked Jul 5, 2016
It was like meeting a couple of friends and discussing how they would like to grow their business.
Answered May 4, 2021
Basic and they looked desperate
Answered Apr 10, 2021
What tips or advice would you give to someone interviewing at Right At Home?
Asked Jun 13, 2017
Be honest about your experience. They have lots of training
Answered Jul 13, 2021
Needs better management
Answered May 23, 2021
What questions did they ask during your interview at Right At Home?
