One Gal
#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Mon, April 08, 2013
Several years ago, I worked for Theanna Zika at Visiting Angles and I experienced many of the negative things in the original post. To me, the experience with Theanna and Visiting Angles was a blemish on my career.
Theanna was often confused, disorganized and running late, if she showed up at all. Her dishonesty and twisted perspective lead to many problems and frustration for all who encountered her. Many times there was no way to reach Theanna and when she would resurface she was full of anger and anxiety.
Theanna was, and still may be, a master manipulator. When I first started working for her I believed that she was a hard working woman, trying her hardest to build a business. I believed she would be a kind, honest employer and I felt that she was offering quality home care to the elderly. I still remember the first time she screamed at me over the phone, how horrible it made me feel. I wanted to quit my job, but believed if I tried harder things could get better. They didnt, they went downhill pretty quickly. I started catching my boss in lies, as she felt more comfortable with me she started to find ways to blame me for her negative actions. She would say I had not told her about a client assessment, but really she had forgotten about it.
Toward the end of my employment, I would come into the office to find that Theanna had been there all night long. Files would be strewn all over the office, she would be crouched on the floor muttering to herself. She became explosive and angry at the littlest things. She used foul language and made racist remarks about caregivers.
Theanna has a long list of "former employees", she claims that they were difficult and stole money from her. I quit after a very explosive event that had a negative impact on a care giver and client. I later heard, from new employees Theanna hired who I had never met, that she said I was stealing from her and very dishonest. These employees were working to try to resolve the problems with the agency. Later I learned that she had lost her Visiting Angles franchise and has now opened Heavenly Helpers, another home health care agency.
I have a real concern for the care she is providing, this is not about past anger or resentment. It's about real people who are helpless under her care. I also hope her chemical dependency does not get the best of her and continue to cause her to have such a negative impact in the lives of all of those around her.
Health Care Guy
St. Louis,#3UPDATE Employee
Wed, November 19, 2008
I am a former employee of Theanna's. Someone sent me the posting accusing Theanna of all these things and I simply had to write a response. I hardly know where to begin because the person you describe is the opposite of the Theanna I know. I hope it's obvious to readers that when you read a laundry list of accusations like this, most/all are probably untrue. Complaints with one issue are usually more believable. Theanna is an extremely hard-working entrepreneur and cares deeply about her clients. Her clients absolutely love her! She is one of the most caring and empathetic people I've worked for, and if anything, needs to be more demanding of her employees. She wears a lot of hats in managing the company, and I know she had one very difficult employee recently who not only did a poor job, but was dishonest to boot ... I imagine that is the person who posted this, out of sheer vindictiveness. Theanna works 12-16 hours a day. To criticize someone who is pouring their heart and soul into growing a business for "sleeping at the office" is pure mischaracterization. She has to work mega-hours precisely BECAUSE of incompetent people like the person who probably posted these comments. As for face-lifts, whether true or not, how is that relevant to anything? Lastly, the racist allegations are simply not true. I know from personal experience that Theanna cringes every time clients say things like "I don't want a black caregiver." This happens because some elderly people still carry biases that we cannot do anything about. Theanna recognizes this as a reality of the business, but I've personally seen her express regret for having to deal with it. The idea that she has a hateful bone in her body is absolutely ridiculous. Theanna has always seemed like an angel to me, and it makes me angry that someone would accuse her of something so contrary to her personality, just to get back at her for his/her own shortcomings as an employee. I hope readers will see the original comments for what they are ...