Another Former Employee Reflects On Valley View

Things aren't all rainbows and butterflies at Valley View Home (VVH), despite what the current administration would want the community to believe.

I started working at VVH in 1987. I was 16 years old. I continued to work there for 27 years. During the time that I was employed, the facility cycled through many changes – some for the better, others for the worse.

I worked with three different administrators, four directors of nursing, four social service directors, four maintenance supervisors, four housekeeping supervisors, five consultant dietitians, and countless other staff. I wouldn’t even be able to guess how many residents I saw come and go. Nor would I be able to tell you how many people I worked with in the dietary department. I think that I have demonstrated that I am capable of accepting change. Current administration didn't think so.

While I worked at Valley View, I made a lot of friends and met a lot of people. I spent more time in the facility than I ever did at my own home with my own family. I feel I sacrificed a lot for the facility – I even continued to work full time while being treated for breast cancer. I am an extremely loyal employee and I have an incredible work ethic.

However, I am not tolerant. I could not tolerate being bullied by administration. I could not tolerate being called “untruthful.” I could not tolerate being reprimanded for giving my best to the facility and the residents. I could not tolerate being told my performance was “below standards.” I could not tolerate being retaliated against for voicing my concerns and filing a grievance.

On Nov. 12, I resigned my position. I can tell you it was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make and it caused me some serious anxiety. Although it worries me because I have two kids I need to provide for, I don’t regret my decision. At all. That's probably a good thing, because I was discharged from my position 1 week after I resigned. I likely would not have had a job for much longer anyway.

If I’m so content with my decision, why am I writing this? Because the world doesn’t revolve around me – that’s why.

In the last six months, there have been more than 30 resignations from the facility. These are professional adults that live in our community. They are compassionate people that WANT to care for others. They are important and deserve respect. This community may want to ask WHY there have been so many resignations. The administration of VVH has an obligation to care about the people working in the facility. If VVH fails, it won’t be because of financial reasons. It will be because no one wants to work there. It will be because the people that have been trusted to manage the facility don’t know what they are doing and they don’t care about anything but the bottom line.

When you hear about all of these "great" changes at VVH, I caution you not to take it at face value.

Georgie Kulczyk lives in Glasgow. She now works at The Courier.