Complaint Review: Bonaventure Senior Living of Idaho Falls ID - Internet

I have never filed a report like this, in fact, I didn't realize a site like this one existed.  Had I known, I would have done my homework better about this company.  Lets be clear:  I am not a disgruntled employee or some nut job.  I am a professional writer, author of several books, former business owner and have had a great employment history.   I am glad I no longer work there. 

A recent transplant from NY, I was hired as  Marketing Director for the Idaho Falls, ID community.  Little did I know, two other women were also hired for the position.  That's right: 3 women sharing one desk, one phone and one computer.  We all realized early on that this was going to be a "survival of the fittest" test, even though Pam Gray and Kelley Hamilton portrayed it as a "Team"  In fact, we all had red hair, so we called ourselves "Team Red." 

It didn't take long to realized that we were nothing more than telemarketers, who basically harassed old people who were truly sick with dementia, afraid and alone.  Plus, the ED was also fairly new (six months) and had hired all his friends, who also happened to be of the same religion as him (LDS) which is prevalent in this area.  

"Training" is a joke - you are told what to say, to prey about the fears of the older adults or their children.   You harass them even when they ask you not to call any more.  The first time they ask is nice, but then when you call again, they either scream at you or hang up.  We have been calling people since 2008 from this facility, even before it opened in 2009.  The goal is to get them in to tour, get a $500 deposit from them, and move them in.   They are bombarded with fliers, mailers and kinds of junk mail.  It never stops until they threaten to sue. 

Kelley Hamilton is the CEO, Pam Gray the COO, and everything you have read previously about them is true.  Pam is a self aggrandizing, unintelligent buffoon who hides behind the telephone and uses every opportunity she can to demoralize or tear down any success you have had.  Two Regional Directors had quit the day before I left, but Kelley (a male) cowers in the background while Pam calls the shots.   I never met him either, and talked to him on the phone once since I was hired. 

Pam fired me over the phone after I had been there 8 weeks because I did not sound 'warm' or 'compassionate'  during a "shop call."  These are calls which are set up to see how you react to supposed new clients who are inquiring about the facility.  She had deemed I failed because I was too business like, gathering information such as name, address and medical information, the very things we were told were imperative to gather in order to create a profile on these potential residents.

I laughed when she said that, which made her even madder.  She had never met me, never watched me work, or observe me interacting with the residents.  I was salaried so that meant I worked 7 days a week, 12 hours a day.  One of the girls had already been fired after being there three weeks. 

Team Red brought in 10 people, and according to a bonus contract we signed, we should have been compensated close to $2,500 for the month of October.   Of course, terminating me would mean I was ineligible for my bonus.  

Interesting that this happened just before my probation period was up.  And the last woman standing for the Marketing Director position husband's also happened to go to school with the ED, and was of the same religion. 

I do have to add that the medical & activities staff are saints and truly care about the residents, but there are a lot of slip ups.  They work short staffed all the time, which resulted in a 100 year old female resident being sent to the hospital, and no one ever checked on her because they didn't know she was gone.  Needless to say, her family did not check her back into Bonaventure.  

The chef & kitchen staff are first rate.  Its just a shame that upper management can't get its act together, and are just acting as a revolving door to get the deposits made.   

The residents truly lose in the end.  The only winners are Pam and Kelley, and whoever is the ED flavor of the month.   It helps if you are his religion.