There is no well defined Management Policy in a Board and Care Home. There are people that are hired to do jobs. But there are no structure/organization within each area of each facility..
The Administrator is almost always the owner. He doesn’t do much but come into his office in the morning, open his mail and talk on the telephone. The Secretary sits there with her glamorous clothing and does nothing but run his office for almost nine hours a day. Some owners leave the facility right after an hour. While other owners stay four to five hours then leave.
Other Administrators come in and go to their office and play with their computers. These types of administrator only have credit cards on him. He also hates to pay things the City should be paying for.
Some owners tell the clients who come in and ask for a room that “I’ll give you the rent as soon as I get it.” They readily accept this type of client and feed them without no money being given to the Landlord.. After months and months, these people move to another place with money owing on the first room.. The Manager never collects this from either his relatives or bring suit against that freeloader in the courts.
The women in these places all like to have their hair done which they think makes them glamorous. The Activity Leader picks out their new style and the color. She does the same for the men who can’t shave themselves or wash their hair. They get a shave, shampoo and haircut for twenty dollars. This is just a part of the Activity Leaders job.
The Activity Department doesn’t teach much about hobbies or life development. They teach singing, dancing, music listening and take them to expensive stores instead of the 99 cent store to buy their hygiene supplies. On the Holidays, the Management gives each client a good time such as July 4th, Memorial Day and Christmas. On these days when the sun is warm the facility throws a BBQ. The Administrator put on a big feed for all the clients which is better then the food the cooks usually serve. Afterwards every one goes back to their rooms feeling better..
When a new patient comes in they either accept them readily or check them out.. My current place checks only the Social Security Number and insurance. He likes to provide a lot of viewpoints that only the person from Lynch ambulance and Metro-Care. The managers are really nice to the new clients that come in. But they can never stop the problem. But after a few weeks, the Administrator, starts signing up for Educational Programs, RT, PT, OT, Socialization Centers and some get part times jobs such as at Goodwill Industries. They do not like the clients to go to other places because he thinks that they all need supervision. My Doctors for over 15 years have given me on my annual report. Permission to go anywhere I want to unsupervised. They complain about that all the time.
Most of the Board and Care, I’ve lived in the administrators and owners do not have any formal education in Management. They do not mention anything about their past or their background. They mention about their girl friends and the single ones talk about their sexual exploits. To become a Operator her in Orange County and all throughout the State of California, you file the appropriate application with fees, take on the job training, and take the test which is simple. Then you can start off as either Assistant Administrator or Administrator
As I stated above they have no formal education in Management. Maybe that is why they are so badly managed. Education for this job is normally Psychology or Nursng. In Psychology Educational programs there are no courses or requirements in Management for that Degree. The same goes for Nursing. This is if you’re Director of Nurses for five years or more at a regular hospital. The Administrator does no planning both financially and for the growing needs of his residents. After he leaves each day, he thinks everything is hunky-dory. These types like to get the money and spend it on themselves.
They don’t do anything good at all for the resident. The individual gets distraught and they can’t do anything about it. Every time someone feels that way they send him to the Hospital ER for evaluation via ambulance. The person is that way because the Caregivers have just a little training that got him the job.
I’ve mentioned about the Administrator. So then now let me briefly mention about the other members of the staff.. The Assistant Administrator is the person that is paid to direct all the supervision when the Administrator and his assistant are not around. This person does all the paperwork for the Administration. He or she manages the Office one day a week when the two higher ups aren’t there.
Another person on the front office staff is the Secretary or Administrative Assistant. This person has to do the work of three other people. She does all the money and the cash logs for the entire place. This person takes care of all the filing and other paper work. In most places this person works six days.
The Kitchen is the worst problem. They can’t seem to find any cooks other than some cooks that that should never have been cook. The cooks that they find are Hispanic that come in at 6:30.. He doesn’t do too much because he has two assistants and the Caregivers also… These dinners are made by the Main Cook and are left in the refrigerator for use in at dinner by warming the up in the kitchen. The Caregivers give the people all their drinks after they started eating their meals. The Caregivers clean up the tables with soap and water is put in the Kitchen sink. The floors are usually just kept clean whenever there is a spill.
The Housekeeping Department in almost every place is just the same. They hire Hispanics to do the job. These two women get to work at 6 A.M. and leave at 2:30 in the afternoon.. They grab for their cleaning carts and other equipment and go to work right after they get to the job. They make the beds, empty the trash and clean the toilet some days. If it is needed, they will vacuum the whole room. Each week the rooms are cleaned thoroughly with clean sheets, blankets and bed spreads put on the bed. For the daily cleaning, it takes them 5 minutes to clean everything. In these places, there is sometimes no housekeeping after 4 p.m.
The Receptionist in the place answers all the phone calls takes messages and waits on the visitors. This person is usually overworked and cannot get advancement for his position. They stay on for two to three years and then quit to go to another job. This person is also responsible for sorting the mail and giving the residents their mail.
The most skilled job in a facility is the Caregivers. They have to know whether to send the person to the hospital or put them back to bed. They are not nurses but know very basic nursing procedures. They know how to change beds, bathe, and dress and put people into their wheelchairs. Evidently the State won’t allow the Caregiver to do any First Aid except when the Med Clerk Supervisor is around because they send the clients via ambulance to the Hospital ER for evaluation and treatment.. Several hours later, they return to the facility with a Care Statement. All these facilities have Caregivers on three shifts and they are totally responsible for the facility at night time.
Last but not least is what I call the Health Department. This includes Client Records, Pharmacy Room, and Physicians Exam and Consult Room. The Pharmacy Room has a Supervisor with two clerks. that pass out the meds at all meals and at other necessary times. The P.M. Caregivers give out the Bedtime medicines.
The employees of these facilities work very hard and for long hours for very little money. They have no benefits such as Medical, Dental or any type of health insurance. The owner takes in all the money and gives them minimum wages.
This then ends my essay on the Management of Board and Care Homes. Remember the functions of Management as taught at CSUF’s Principles of Management Course are Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Controlling/Coordinating, Organizing and Budgeting.
1441 Words
Glen G. Mayberry
February 22, 2008
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