Pros
The first time I walked into the building and saw the staff interacting with the participants - average age of 79-80, average of 7-8 chronic medical conditions, all paid for my medicare and medicaid, I was literally in tears. I thought, I want to do whatever I have to in order to be in this environment. I have been a member of the management team, a group of about 40 people who gets together every month. Every single person in the organization has an opportunity to be heard. The CEO founded the organization about 15 years ago and she is a remarkable human being. Her door is always open to anyone at any level in the organization. This is a great way to make a difference with the people in the region who need it most. The staff are wonderful and there is a real team environment. The participants are so very appreciative - to a person - that it makes going to work there (for me, at least), a true privilege.
Cons
My biggest frustration is that, given that the organization is Medicare/Medicaid-based, there are quite a few things that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) needs to approve, and they are slow. Want to change a page on the website? It literally might take CMS up to 45 days to approve it. This, combined with the fact that it's a healthcare organization, means that most change moves slowly. As a can-do, impatient, results-oriented worker, initially this frustrated me to no end. However, since I changed my expectations (too me about 6 months!), I no longer get upset by this.
